


Eyes Made of Roses

by marzimarsimars



Category: Diabolik Lovers
Genre: Abuse, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Blood Drinking, Blood Kink, Blood and Gore, Blood and Violence, Control, Cruelty, Emotional Manipulation, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, F/M, Forbidden Love, Gaslighting, Hurt/Comfort, Idols, Incest, Masochism, Multi, Non-Consensual Blood Drinking, Pain, Power Dynamics, Predator/Prey, Psychological Trauma, Romance, S&M, Sadism, Vampire Turning, Violence, Witchcraft
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-28
Updated: 2018-12-31
Packaged: 2019-03-28 22:30:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 31
Words: 79,392
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13913523
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/marzimarsimars/pseuds/marzimarsimars
Summary: It begins simply enough: an amnesiac awakens in a world that contradicts the few memories she has left.





	1. L'éveil

_Her heart ached._

The girl could not tell if this was something physical or just an expression of grief, but she hurt so terribly. Who knew why...

Only seconds ago had this aching manifested itself, but she couldn't remember what she was doing beforehand. As a matter of fact,  _all_ of her memories seemed to have evaded herーperhaps she was lost in a dreamscape.

Though, this felt very real. She could think as well as she normally could. Or... as she normally  _would_? Actually, who was she?

She silenced her thoughts as she realized even her own name was unknown to her. No matter how hard she tried to think, her mind was completely and utterly blank. The fact that she even knew how to speak amazed her.

Well, wait... she remembered...

 _A cupcake_. A memory of a cupcake. It was a shade of brownーnot as dark as chocolate, nor as light as pumpkin spice. The color was just lighter than cinnamon, and it gave off such a heavenly fragrance that it made her mouth water even now as she...

She...

She still couldn't tell where she was.

This felt like more than just a dream, yet she was unable to see, and could only think. However thinking of anything was very useless, as all of her thoughts had seemingly vanished.

Her name, her home, her family, her friends. If she even had any of those things.

She couldn't even recall her own appearance.

She was curious to see, though. Surely the shade of her hair or the color of her eyes could help trigger other memories. This was terribly annoying, though. She hated how aware she was of her own ignorance. This felt like a curse!

The girl's eyelids were screwed shut, and eventually she became aware of that, too. No matter how many times she flicked her irises to and fro from behind her skin, she couldn't muster the strength to open them. She was forced to stare at nothingness, only imagining what lied beyond.

Slowly, though, she began to feel her senses return to her. She concluded that she must have been asleep thenーonce her ears began to pick up nearby rustling, and breathing, and her nose began to take in a familiar smell of woodlands and musk.

For a moment she believed she'd wake up in the middle of a forest, but then she began to feel a soft mattress beneath her. She tasted the empty flavor of her own tongue, and felt the pounding of her heart in her chest. It was almost as if this was her first time sensing anything at all.

There was a heavy duvet draped across her body, and from both sides of her something pulled down at it. There was also the weight of twoーthree? bodies beside her. At that, the girl became filled with dread. It wouldn't go too well, she imagined, if she woke up to suddenly have a spouse and children and not remember them at all.

A bit of moisture began gathering at the edges of her eyes. She lifted a hand to touch her tears, wondering what had caused her to cry. But her pondering was easily consumed by the realization that she could physically move nowーand so she tried once again to see if she could lift her eyelids.

They fluttered open on command.


	2. Perte de mémoire

_The ceiling was beige._   
  


It was a dull color, and frankly the girl was a bit disappointed that the first color she had to see was such a boring hue. She brought her gaze down to her hands, and noticed that she was both very pale and very thin. She seemed quite young as well, considering how smooth her skin was. Her nails were painted black, and the tips of her hair were colored mahogany.

The people sharing this bed with her were not familiar in the slightest. She wondered if she was supposed to know them. Or maybe, she thought... could  _none_  of them remember a thing? She found solace in that; should that be the case, then she wouldn't have to explain anything. The idea of meeting people who knew and loved her while she held zero attachment to them worried her more than it was probably supposed to.

 _Relax_ , she scolded herself. Yet the girl still tensed up when the person to her right stirred, groggily humming in his sleep. He was a young manーand very beautiful, even asleepーwith short, frazzled red hair and skin as white as hers.

To her left was another male who looked very similar to the one on her right, albeit with hair a bit browner and longer and who had a small mole beneath his parted lips. Though his eyes were closed, she could tell he was just as handsome as the other.

There was a third person strewn across the bed, gripping one of the girl's wrists in one hand while clutching a teddy bear in the other. In comparison to the other two men, he was small and bore a complexion so white that it was almost sickly. Actually... if not for the rhythmic rise and fall of his back, and the gentle breathing she could hear emitting from him, she would have thought he was dead. To put it bluntlyーhe was  _creepy_. She wished he'd release her wrist, but his grip seemed to only grow tighter if she tried to wriggle her arm free.

Her attempts at releasing her limb were in vain, so she eventually decided to give up. She turned back to the young man on her left, as that was the most comfortable direction for her to faceーand was surprised to find herself staring into a pair of bright emerald eyes.

"Seems you're awake~" he purred, and the girl nearly jumped out of her skin. She wasn't expecting anyone else to be awake too! The man was smirking, and for a moment the girl calmed, and thought about how much more handsome he was with his eyes openーbut she withheld her opinions to query him.

"Who are you..?" she asked. She was surprised to hear how pitifully her rasped voice trembled. The young man's smile only widened.

"Nfu~ You don't remember anything?"

"Nothing at all," she said despairingly. Rather than offering solace, as she would expect, he seemed to grow excited by her inability to recollect her surroundings. He moved closer, and wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her into his chest. She only stared in bewilderment when his hands reached up to cup her cheeks, and suddenly his lips pressed against hers.

His warmth gave her goosebumps. The kiss was dry and held no passion, but she didn't necessarily dislike the feeling. He had a sweet metallic taste on his lips, which she had to admit she rather enjoyed. What was this flavor? It reminded her of something... red. It was addictingーlike a charm, it successfully drew her in, and a half of her wished to taste more of it. However he pulled away before she could do anything more. She barely had a chance to comprehend the feelings she just experienced, let alone explore the rest of this man in front of her. So the young woman asked:

"Are you..." she stammered, "are you my lover..?"

"No," he said, and she breathed out a sigh of confused disappointment. She couldn't tell who else he might be to her. Just a friend? Her morals and opinions were all muddled up, but a part of her thought she had just let this man take advantage of the fact that she couldn't remember him.

A series of grim thoughts dawned on her then. This boy could be a kidnapper, planning to murder her, assault her, or something else of that vile nature. If he was not her lover, and he still made the decision to kiss her like that, was he a threat? She began to tear up.

And his hold on her waist grew tighter; she tensed when he placed his lips on her shoulder. Locks of red-brown hair fell to curtain his face, its soft strands tickling her neck. He planted gentle kisses up along her collarbone, while he held the back of her head in one hand, and the girl was left paralyzed in her place.

It felt as though she was drowning in the air around her as alarms went blaring in her head. Though nothing had physically changed about this man, he suddenly seemed very dangerous to herーshe wanted to scream, she wanted to bite down on him, but she could not move a muscle. As his free hand trailed down her back, and his breathing became a bit more aroused, the restraints she felt grew even more upsetting. But then she remembered that she could speak, and cracked open her lips to protest against him.

"H-hey..." she started, to which he responded with a quiet moan. Her tears rolled down faster. She felt him smile against her skin at that, and his breaths grew even heavier. He pulled away to toss his head back, a bright, electrified blush burning across his face. "Hehe~ Never did I imagine I'd see you crying like this~" he moaned out. "You spoil me, you're so cute..."

 _How disgusting, to find pleasure in my tears!_  The girl's brows furrowed, before a sudden spurt of confidence swept over her, and she thrusted the boy away. She could only use her right hand to do so, but it was effective nonetheless; her left was still in the tight grip of the sleeping violet-haired child.

She half expected the man to grow angry with her, given that he seemed to be very handsy and in control of things. It was a bit of surprise when he cracked a smile just as wide and eerie as before. Still, she took the time to savor her newfound breathing roomーshe wasn't sure how fleeting it would be.

"That's no good, Hoshio~" he scolded. The young woman was so focused on having space to herself again that the fact that he revealed her name went completely over her head. For a moment. The name echoed in her mind once more, and she peeked up at the boy in front of her.

 _Hoshio_.

She had thought that if she was to ever learn her name, she'd know immediately who she was. But 'Hoshio' did not ring a bell in the slightest.

"..'Hoshio'?" she muttered. "Is that me?"

The violet-haired boy awoke before she received an answer, whirling her attention around to him instead. He was a very lithe child, and very graceful, and the girl was enthralled just watching as he pulled himself up at the foot of the bed. He looked like a young, young boy. His lids were half-open with a vague look of childish curiosity glowing in his tired eyes, and the hair atop his head was swept sideways from his sleep. His hand was still holding onto the young woman's wrist. This, he soon realized, which inspired a small smile from him before he tugged her forward. As she lurched toward him, she shot her other hand out to stop herself from falling into his lap. Carefully then, she tilted her head up to stare at him. Her lips were parted just a bit, but she couldn't find the strength to shut them.

"Your eyes are dull," he told her. His face darkened then. "She's just as expressionless as a doll, isn't she, Teddy? Those tears are fake. What a liar." His comment surprised her, for inside her thoughts and emotions really were running haywire. She had assumed the same to be shown on her face. It seemed she even forgot how to express herself, too.

The boy leaned toward her, staring just centimeters away from her face. She was afraid he might kiss her, like the other one did, so she raised a hand to shield her mouth from his. However once he recognized what she was expecting him to do, he burst into a fit of chuckles. His head lolled back as he did so, his laughs contorting into hysterical giggles. The noise made her uneasy; she wasn't sure what to expect from a laughing child. And he wouldn't stop! Eventually Hoshio managed to pull her wrist away from him and sat upright, then turned back to the one who actually  _had_  kissed her. The third man remained asleep.

"Who are you people?" She asked. Her voice sounded so hopeless that she nearly cringed at herself. This was frightening her, and she had an awful feeling roiling around her body. She wanted solace, and although these three conflicting men would not be the first she'd go to for that, she figured they  _must_  have something to do with her. And the taller one spoke first. His everlasting smile remained plastered onto his gorgeous face..

"I'm Laito~" he winked. The one holding the teddy bear introduced himself as Kanato, and as Hoshio examined him she realized something was very off about himーeven more so than the others. He couldn't be older than a child! But his aura was...  _mature_ , despite him being childish in both manner and appearance. She couldn't read him at all.

They told her that the lazy oneーwho was still passed out, for whatever reasonーwas called Ayato. Hoshio nodded, forgetting any doubt regarding Kanato for a moment to focus on her main issue.

"Why did you erase my memories?" It was easy to jump to conclusions. Surely they must have caused it, she thought. Else why would they be so casual with her now? However Laito began to laugh. As handsome as he was, his chuckle was eerie tooーthough nothing could compare to Kanato'sーand it made Hoshio even more uncomfortable.

"That's mean of you to accuse us so suddenly like that~" he whined. "I actually don't know why you forgot everything. I mean, I knew it was a  _possibility_ , but none of us really thought..." With that, Laito grew solemn, and the amnesiac tilted her head to the side.

"What happened..?" she asked.

His eyes fell shut.

He didn't necessarily look pained; this didn't affect him at all emotionally. It was more... that he didn't  _want_  to explain this to her.

It was a bother to him.

She tore her gaze away, awkwardly staring at the mattress. For whatever reason, bringing herself to even speak his name felt impossible. It'd be so easy just to ask,  _who are you to me?_  But her tongue couldn't form the words.

"Anyway~" Laito hummed, and sent a warm smile in Kanato's direction. "Kanato-kun! I'm sure Bitch-chan is lonely without me. You'll keep Hoshi-chan entertained till Ayato-kun wakes up, won't you~?"

It took Hoshio a moment before she realized 'Bitch-chan' was an entirely different person. Nonetheless, her dislike for Laito only continued to grow. What a petty, humiliating nickname! He couldn't be any less opinionated.

Kanato tilted his head to the side, pulling his teddy bear close to his chest. "We'll make sure she doesn't get bored..." he promised, and looked even more frightening than before.

Hoshio couldn't pinpoint exactly what it was, but something about these three was horribly,  _horribly_  wrong.


	3. Yeux Comme Fleurs Roses

Laito went in the most peculiar fashionーhe simply vanished, without a trace of him left behind. Hoshio blinked after him, before turning back to Kanato.

"He... disappeared?" she asked, just to clarify.

"You disappeared too," Kanato pointed out. He flashed his teeth in a sinister smile, moving closer to her. She realized by now that despite his young appearance, he was actually a bit taller than she was. "Just a few hours ago, you knew who I was. Where did you go..?"

His face darkened, and his brows knitted together, and suddenly he was overcome with a spontaneous fit of rage. "WHERE?!"

Hoshio's chest sunk at his outburst, and she tried not to flinch. She had already established that Laito was someone she never wanted to be alone with, but she was beginning to think Kanato wasn't much better. However she held her composure, and clenched the silk bedsheets beneath her.

"...I don't.. know," she answered. "..Can you tell me..? Who I used to be..?"

Kanato huffed and averted his gaze. His focus shifted so that he was glaring irritably at the mattress. "I'm not allowed to say," he said.

Hoshio's voice lowered. "Laito isn't here," she whispered, "so you can tell me."

But he only giggled again in a gauging sort of way. "Haha, you must  _really_  be dumb if you think I listen to Laito."

"Oh, right," she internally facepalmed.  _Of course!_ Kanato didn't look older than fifteen, and Laito appeared around twenty, so... "Where are your parents? Um... and my parents? Maybe they could help me with this... dilemma... Wait, I'm not your mother, am I?" Hoshio hoped that wasn't true; she knew she couldn't handle the burdens of motherhood in her current state. But if it was?

Kanato looked surprised for a moment. So innocently surprised, just like a child who had dropped his ice cream cone on the street. However he then fell indignant again, as the amnesiac's suggestion did nothing but worsen his already erratic fury. He whipped his head toward the sleeping Ayato, and began to scream.  _"_ _I_ _despise_ _this Hoshio! Bring the old one back, you stupid thing!!"_

The girl subconsciously turned to face Ayato, and was surprised to see him sitting uprightーas if he was never asleep in the first place. He didn't look much tired either. If she didn't know any better, she would think he had been up for hours. With one knee propped up and the other leg dangling off the side of the bed, he scowled, particularly irked by the violet-haired boy.

"Shut the hell up, Kanato. You're at fault just as much as I am," he spat. His voice was vaguely familiar. At least, in comparison to the other two. He spoke with a certain arrogance and crudity that reminded Hoshio of something...

Her heart began to ache again. She didn't even realize it had gone away until it came searing back, burning its way through her chest.

"Ah..!" she quietly hissed, and brought a hand up to lay on her chest. She had to find an adult, or... just anyone more mature than these boys. This was getting out of hand. She slid off the side of the bed, and found herself draped in a lavender negligee. It was a very flattering outfit, albeit much too short for her liking. Still, she decided against spending too much time on it and instead advanced toward the door.

"Where are you going?" Kanato's voice rang out. Within an instant, he was standing right before her, blocking the doorknob from her reach. She halted, alarmed. She wasn't sure if it was normal for people to... teleport... like this. Or maybe her vision was just lagging? But either way, this only raised more red flags. She did her best to suppress it.

"I'd like to speak with the head of this household," she declared. Her only hiccup there was averting her gaze near the end of that statement. Still, her confidence was mighty—and that was what mattered most in this case.

"...We promised we wouldn't let you leave though," Kanato responded. Hoshio knew that was not at all what he promised Laito, but she didn't try to correct him. His stare was curt and scrutinizing; he might have been graceful, but he was awfully judgmental in both manner and speech. That kind of glare made the room feel a whole lot smaller.

"An adult is all I want," she insisted. "Just let me speak wi—" But here, she was interrupted once more. A hollow knock sounded from the other side of the door, which not only silenced her but also prompted Kanato to twitch in annoyance. And when he turned around to swing open said door, yet another unfamiliar face was revealed.

The newcomer was very tall and even more mysterious than the other three. His hair was dark and his eyes were the color of roses, and he donned a pair of grey-rimmed glasses atop the bridge of his nose. He looked like some kind of a butler or scholarーbut either way, Hoshio immediately trusted that he was someone she could rely on more than she could the others. He just had that feel about him. She didn't hesitate to speak with him.

"Sir, um, hello, if you could please show me to the owner of this house... I'm very confused.."

The dark-haired man looked down at her with an expression even more gauging than Kanato's. When he spoke, his tone was not much better.

"The master of this house will never do anything that could be of use to you," he said, with a sort of venom in his tone. He stepped all the way into the room. "Any questions or concerns should be directed to me."

Perhaps if he had toned his voice a little more sweetly, he might have been of some help, but he sounded so stern that Hoshio completely shied away from fighting this one. She might have been rendered wholly taciturn then, but she began to feel a bit angry inside; no one seemed to realize how horribly distraught she was. So she opened her mouth and began spewing out everything at once. She was tired of being an afterthought. Here was the chance, and she wasn't sure how long she had.

"Can you please explain who you are and why I'm here and why I can't remember anything and what hapー"

"One question at a time,  _honestly_ ," he interrupted, sighing. "I'm aware of your situation, Hoshio. You just can't expect me to deal with this so early in the evening. Now, I am the second-eldest member of this household, Reiji Sakamaki. You live in this mansion with us."

Hoshio opened her mouth to say something, but Reiji held up a hand to keep her quiet. "Last night, you went against every piece of advice I've ever given you and lost your memory in the process. There. Satisfied?"

 _What a crude man; that wasn't much help at all!_  Hoshio internally groaned. The four-eyed man turned to Ayato and Kanato after that, not even waiting for her to respond. "Now, then, you two. You have preparations to make for tonight. Please return to your rooms."

Kanato went on to speak with Reiji, and for a moment Hoshio was offended to be cast aside like that. Yet somehow it was even more nerve-wracking when she was actually mentioned in their conversation.

"Hoshio's coming with us tonight," he started, which had caused her to freeze up. "Right?"

...Coming  _where_..?

"No," Reiji quickly denied. "Attending a soirée in her current state will not help her at all."

Kanato's eyes were wide and hysteric as he cocked his head back again to stare at the girl. His irises appeared to be quivering before he muttered, "That's a sad excuse... The real Hoshio wouldn't want to miss it."

"Yes, well, this soirée is a masquerade. If she can barely recognize us now, how do you think she'll do in a crowded ballroom?" A party! No, Hoshio definitely did not want to go to a party tonight.

"I'd rather stay... home," she agreed, though the latter word was tasteless on her tongue. This didn't feel like home to her. The room was dark and spacious and sort of had a haunted feel to it. And not just because she felt alienated around these peopleーit had a genuinely unsettling atmosphere.

"Then there you have it," Reiji concluded, but Kanato wouldn't give up.

"I'll make sure to watch her," he insisted. His voice wasn't reassuring in the slightest. It sounded more like a threat, actually.

" _No_. Hoshio will stay here, however you two do not get a choice in whether you go or not. This soirée is hosted by an aristocrat from the demon realm, who has specifically requested our presence there. Meaning, as much as Subaru and that good-for-nothing despise it, all of us are obliged to attend."

A knowing smirk crossed Ayato's face. "The way I see it, Hoho and Pancake aren't exempt, then, are they? Since the host wants  _all_  of us?"

"You fool. You know very well why Yui cannot go with us," Reiji hissed. His voice was lowered, warning Ayato not to utter another word. But both he and Kanato grinned mischievously. It seemed they enjoyed tormenting their butler like this.

 _Reiji-san_ is  _their butler, right? I forgot already..._

"That doesn't explain Hoshio though," Kanato said. It was obvious by now that Reiji was fed up with this argument. He shut his eyes, pushing up his glasses.

"Fine. If you truly want her there so badly, I expect never to see her more than two feet away from you."

 _They sound so possessive! It's not like I'm a child_ ー _at least I think not_ ー _but anyway, they treat this soirée so seriously. Isn't it just an elegant party?_

Hoshio drifted off to her own thoughts, continuing to ponder over things. Reiji had mentioned a "demon realm," but she figured it was slang for... a criminal organization or something. She really didn't understand anything. But she knew for a fact that attending some masquerade ball would not be useful in any regard. She had thought Reiji would help her out of that, but in the end he gave in to Kanato. She didn't think she'd be able to get out of this now.

The glasses-donning man started up again, this time to Hoshio: "Your ballgowns are in your closet. I'd advise you to pick something dark. Moreover, your mask is on the table."

Out of curiosity, she looked toward the table, and found a glistening red half-mask. Alongside its arrangement of gold trimmings and pressed ornaments, a fat rose blossom was planted on its side. She couldn't deny how gorgeous it was, but she still didn't fancy the idea of attending a soirée right now.

"Be ready in an hour," Reiji instructed.

"Er," she piped up, "I believe I get a say in this too, yes? I'd like to stay here..."

But when she turned back around, she found herself completely alone.

"..."

_Well then._


	4. La Déesse de la Peinture

Hoshio's closet was actually a lot larger than she'd expected it to be. Its door led to a room filled with all sorts of outfits and uniforms. Each ballgown looked like they cost a fortune, with their flowing, layered skirts and intricately-embroidered bodices. It was like she walked into the wardrobe of a Victorian duchess.

And they were so incredibly fancy that she felt out of place just staring at them. Not to mention that all of this was so sudden too! Going to a ball was not something she wanted to do right now. And yet, something was obviously up with these peopleーshe'd rather not fight them.

 _Ah, but I don't really want to go... Not at all..._ Hoshio bit her lip and fumbled with her sleeves, frustrated with this entire situation. If only they were frank with her! If they told her everything she wanted to know, instead of dropping vague, unhelpful advice, she'd feel much better about this soirée.

She didn't know what else to do, so she moved back to the table and tried on her mask. It was comfortable, at least. She had thought the rose would be a bother, given how large it was, but it didn't annoy her in the slightest.  _It's good I can wear a mask_ , she assured herself. She could take advantage of the fact that this was a masquerade; no one should recognize her, and so she wouldn't have to deal with anyone besides Kanato... and the other two. And Reiji, too.

...Perhaps there would be a slight problem.

"No, everything will be fine..." she mumbled, removing the mask. She was about to set it back down on the table, but then she noticed a piece of folded paper sitting on its surface. In messy calligraphy, she read her name, "Hoshio." She nearly dropped the mask in her haste to snatch that note, her fingers quivering with greed as she moved to unfold it. The note itself was written far messier than her name was, but there was only one short phrase scribbled across the page.

'ユイを一人にしないで'

A few seconds passed, and Hoshio realized she was unable to decipher what that meant. The characters were familiarーthis  _was_  the language she spokeーbut she'd somehow forgotten how to read. She turned back to the front of the paper, which had had her name on it, and realized she couldn't even understand that. Even though, she  _did_... just a second ago.

 _I've forgotten how to read already?_  she was horribly confused. _That fast..? How is that possible?_

Hoshio squinted at the writing, even though just staring at it wouldn't help whatsoever. Eventually, she had to give up and turn away. Her irritation was only growing. That one simple phrase might've held the answer to everything, and she couldn't even read it.

Defeated, she placed the note back on the table and went to explore the rest of the room. Her drawers were ravaged, and virtually anything that caught her interest was prodded with at least once. Besides her closet and the exit which Reiji had emerged from, there was another door that Hoshio planned to look at. She opened it only after she was sure to have examined everything else, and found herself standing in a washroom.

The air was warm and thick inside, as if someone had just taken a bathーand it smelt like roses, with a faint twinge of lemongrass. She'd love to just stand there and take in the lovely fragrances, but her attention was soon snatched away once she sighted a mirror. She darted over almost immediately, anxious to see her own appearance.

Her hair was thin and somewhat curly, colored red-violet like her maskーalbeit a bit darker. That wasn't much of a surprise, as she had caught glimpses of her hair tips earlier. Her eyes were strange, though. She had thought her eyes would be an undistinguished brown. On the contrary, however, they were wide and round and shone an emerald green.

Her own appearance was foreign and unexpected, even though she hadn't exactly expected anything in particular. But the way her face was structured and the glow of her eyes and the shade of her hair... It reminded her of a.. painting.

She leaned in closer to the mirror, taking in every detail of her face. There was a beauty mark near her left eye, and her lips were hued a rose-pink. Her ears were pierced, but she wasn't wearing any jewelry.

"I'm... actually quite beautiful," she noted incredulously, as if that was the most unforeseen thing in the world. Well, it might have been... It wasn't everyday one woke up looking like a goddess from a painting.

Hoshio tilted her head to the side to get a better view of her shoulders, but as soon as her eyes landed on her neck she froze.  
  
  


Scattered across her skin were tiny puncture wounds, chaotically arranged like clusters of holes. She yelped and jerked backward, mistaking them at first for gnats. But whether they actually were gnats or puncture wounds, either way it wasn't a very pleasant surprise.

Her hand flew up to slap her neck, and she clenched the countertop with the other, before cautiously peering at the mirror again.  
  
  


Her skin was smooth.

There wasn't a single nick or mark, but Hoshio was still out of breath from the initial shock. She turned away from the mirror, deciding it best to avoid reflective surfaces for now.

There wasn't much else to see in the bathroom, but it was odd to see that the bath actually  _was_  filled. The waters were colored a pinkish lavender hue, and rose petals were sprinkled across the top. It seemed someone had prepared the tub but no one had a chance to use it.

The fragrances steaming up from the hot waters were so enticing though that curiosity got the better of her, and she knelt down to draw her hand through the water. Somehow, preparing for the soirée was so undesirable that she'd rather spend all her time swishing these sweet-smelling waters around.

However they  _were_  undeniably relaxing. She figured if someone ended up questioning her for not getting ready, she could blame it on the enchanting bath waters. A dumb excuse, she knew, but perhaps they'd think she'd forgotten the calming wonders of a rose bath along with the rest of her memories.

...If only said rose bath wasn't  _actually_  left there for her.

"Hoshio-sama," a voice called out. The girl paused, though did not turn around to see who was speaking. "Reiji-sama has instructed us to help you dress for the ball. We've heard about your memory loss, so we will do our best to accommodate you as best as we can."

Hoshio peeked her head behind her, and met with an array of young women dressed in maid uniforms. Although they each were rather cute, they had a faraway look in their eyes, and not a single one of them was smiling. They almost reminded her of broken dolls.

She blinked. "Um... I don't need any help, thank you," she dismissed, and averted her gaze. When they remained still she bit her lip. "Go on," she shooed.

The maid who had spoken the first time only sighed. "Our apologies, Hoshio-sama, but because of your current disability, we are not permitted to take orders from you."

The mahogany-haired girl raised a brow. "Don't I have a right to some privacy?"

"Please do not resist, Hoshio-sama, lest we will resort to force."

And so, as much as she hated to feel powerless, Hoshio was forced to let them do as they pleased.


	5. Pas Plus Tard Qu'hier

The maids got to work immediately, and they were graceful creatures who wisped to and fro like spirits. Hoshio only realized after she had been stripped of her nightgown and instructed not to move that the bath had been prepared for her, as several maids tended to the waters while the others washed her.

She found it embarrassing without any clothes on, but the maids were stern with their work and had no intentions other than to dress her for the ball. They were very gentle too, like the touch of an angel; though at the same time Hoshio could easily see them snapping at her if necessary. They had very fitting demeanors for maids of this haunted manor.

"Hoshio-sama, please soak in this rose bath we prepared for you," one maid instructed, after they finished washing her face. She found bathing in front of them especially awkward, but somehow the maids were even more unnerving than Kanatoーshe didn't try to resist.

As soon as Hoshio dipped her toes in the water, she already felt so relaxed and didn't mind slipping all the way in. But the maids didn't spare a second. They immediately began lathering her arms in lavender oils and pouring cold water over her head, which surprised herーshe wasn't expecting to suddenly be splashed in the face, much less splashed with _ic_ _e_ _water_.

However, the cold triggered another memory. And this time, it was more detailed than that cupcake. She was frozen in place as the recollection came back to her.

It began with a much younger version of herselfーaround seven or eight years of age. She had an older sister who was much more matured and beautiful, and the two of them were sent out by their elderly mother to fetch water from a well. This occurred during the dark of night, but somehow that didn't afflict Hoshio's vision. She remembered her sister's appearance vividly. She was a tall, bosomy figure. She had a waist the size of a twig and waterfalls of dark hair cascading down to her calves, and the most enchanting eyes. They were a piercing shade of tea green, much like Hoshio's own.

Hoshio remembered hearing their mother yell at them as they approached the well, but she couldn't recall what exactly was said. And so she and her sister continued with their job to collect water, but the well's pulley was stuck. Hoshio had reached down to pull the bucket up by rope, and then she...

 _toppled_.  
  
  


Her flashback ended there, with her last remembrance being the cold, dark waters at the bottom of the well.

Hoshio warily glanced at the maids. The memory burned in her mind, but speaking about it made her feel anxious. And the servants paid no mind to her bewildered expression—they continued to soap and rinse her, before asking her to stand up. Then everything went by in a flurry.

The women wisped to and fro even faster than they had before. One dried her with a towel, one procured a ballgown from her closet, while one allowed her  _some_  sense of decency by supplying her black lingerie. Then one maid produced a corset from Hoshio's drawers, causing her to scowl. It didn't take an amnesiac to know that corsets were  _painful_.

"Is that... really necessary..?" she huffed gingerly, but her doubt was paid no mind.

"Hoshio-sama, we've been dressing you for every ball and gala since you were two weeks old," a maid said, but Hoshio was dubious. The oldest-looking maid couldn't be more than twenty-four years, which was far too young for someone who had tended to the same mistress for an entire lifetime. "Please don't question our decisions when you can't even remember your own mother's name."

Hoshio shut her mouth at that. The image of her mother, that elderly woman yelling after her and her sister, came back to mind. She could hear a mix of fear and fury in her mother's quaking voice, but the words themselves were all blurred out. Moreover—what a rude maid!

"What  _is_  my mother's name, then?" said Hoshio, feeling offended.

"Forgive us," the maid responded quickly, looking somewhat dismal. "Reiji-sama has prohibited us from revealing information regarding your social and familial statuses."

"Of course he has," Hoshio muttered. The maid lowered her gaze.

"Reiji-sama's intentions might be unclear, but he isn't someone who would betray you. Especially not now..." The maid offered a rueful smile. "Just know that you might be very special to some people. And everything those people had with you was completely erased only yesterday..."

Hoshio was hit with a silent revelation as those words sunk in. She suddenly felt guilty for rejecting Laito, as crude as he might have been. She realized she should have done a better job of analyzing his feelingsーー

 _Wait, absolutely not. What am I going on about?_  Hoshio thought indignantly.  _Letting those maids sway me like that! I'll have no prejudice against Reiji-san, but I'm sure Laito's normal behavior is not much different from what he's already shown me._

She looked down at the maid with an opinionated look in her eye. "And Laito? Would you say the same for him?"

"Laito-sama and Reiji-sama both are respectable people," her dresser said, and Hoshio wondered if the servants were forbidden from denigrating their masters. If that was the case, she decided she couldn't trust her maid's earlier advice either. Reiji was suspicious enough anywayーwhat kind of man tried so hard to keep an amnesiac's background hidden from her?

Unless he had something to do with it..?

 _Maybe he's just really shy about things_ , Hoshio resolved. She wasn't sure why she pardoned Reiji when she felt so vehement about Laito. But mulling over things would only give her a headache. She opened her mouth to query about Kanato and Ayato, but the maid spoke first:

"Actually..." she bowed her head. "I'm a bit relieved Reiji-sama agreed to let you attend this soirée. Many of your acquaintances will be there."

"That's not exactly something I'm looking forward to."

"Perhaps seeing them might trigger a memory or two, or..." Her servant looked surprised. "Ah, my apologies... We've run off topic." She shook her head before tending to Hoshio again, which prompted the rest of the maids to also resume ghosting throughout the washroom. They fluttered with a nimble grace, butterflies dancing in circles.

Their mistress was caught up in a daze while they powdered her cheeks and combed out her curls. It only took seconds for her hair, which had been dripping wet before, to be completely dry; and they had used nothing but a plastic comb. But not long after that was her face caked in cosmetics, though not so much that it was grossly excessive; and her hair was pinned up in a crown braid, strewn with jewels and faux flowers. The maids adorned her chest with a sterling silver necklace, where a round garnet gemstone was embedded in the center. They provided matching earrings as well.

The maids ended up discarding the corsetーregardless of what they had told Hoshioーwhich the latter was thankful for. They tossed a ballgown over her head and began smoothing out her skirt. Their mistress thought it was odd for them to put her dress on  _after_  doing her hair and makeup, but they did say they had been tending to her since she was two weeks old.

Besides... In the end of it all, Hoshio truly did look like a goddess. She had a lot of things to complain about, but her appearance was definitely not one of them. She quite literally could not stop staring in the mirror.

Call it vanity if you must, but something about her own looks was very curious to her.


	6. Deuxième Rencontre

Hoshio examined her hair, and her ballgown, and her skin, and her eyes, and seemed to be even more amazed with herself the longer she peered in the mirror. She couldn't get over how different she looked. Then her eyes traveled down to her neckーwhich was unflawed, but still uncanny to gaze at nonetheless. Once she had memorized every detail of her appearance, she finally turned away. With all the maids beside her she felt she had no choice but to attend now, and lifted her mask from the table to rest it on the bridge of her nose.

"We have completed preparations with eight minutes to spare," the familiar voice of one maid called out. When Hoshio glanced her way, she noticed that all of the servants had vanished, except for one. Not that she mindedーthey were a bit eerie when grouped up like they were before. The remaining one was the most talkative of the women, the one who seemed to lead the others. She had short black hair with blunt bangs across her foreheadーand large, doll-like blue eyes. Her skin was very pale; almost as sickly as Kanato's. "Shall I lead you to the foyer, Hoshio-sama?"

"The foyer..?"

"You will meet Reiji-sama and the others there. Let's be off," she instructed, and walked over to the door. Hoshio faltered.

"Wait, um... Can I ask... Well, firstly, what's your name?"

Her servant stopped. She might have been surprised by the question, but she would never show it; she turned around to face her mistress with an expression as unreadable and aloof as it always was.

"Out of all the questions you might have," the maid said, "you'd like to know the name of one meaningless servant?"

Hoshio froze. The maid's tone of voice had been somewhat condescending, which made her feel conscious of it. Was she not supposed to ask that? She really didn't know. But she quickly went to furrow her brows, keeping up a haughty act.

"Well, of course," she crossed her arms dismissively. "I can't just keep referring to you as 'the maid.'"

She swore she saw a ghost of a smile cross over her servant's lips, but the latter fully spun around before her mistress could get a good look.

"I suppose so," the maid answered. She seemed stiff as she spoke. "Then... Call me Reika." And once again, Reika moved toward the door, with Hoshio following close behind her. As they walked, she noticed she was much taller than her maid. Not that it mattered... She'd just become very observant of everything around her.

"There are much easier ways for you to find the foyer," Reika remarked. "But since this mansion is now unfamiliar to you, I'd like to lead you through a longer path..."

 _What use is that?_  Hoshio thought to herself. Taking longer routes would only confuse her when she returned to the manor later. ...That is, if they returned. She wasn't quite sure what would happen after the soirée.  
  


Reika finally opened the door, but paused, and Hoshio looked up in confusion. Immediately she realized why.

Laito was standing in the threshold. Leaning against the wall, he smiled down at Reika, before his eyes traveled to Hoshio.

"No need to trouble yourself~ I can take care of Hoshi-chan from here," he said. Reika's lips parted, but she didn't say a word. She never looked back at her mistress eitherーinstead she nodded dutifully, and murmured, "Of course, Laito-sama. Excuse me." Then she bowed and scurried away.

Hoshio barely had a chance to call out for her when Laito fully blocked the doorway. He was fancied up for the evening as wellーdonning a pressed crimson-brown blazer over a black collared shirt, with dress pants of a matching onyx. The upper half of his face was concealed by a mask just as dark and intricate as her own, which really brought out the emerald in his eyes.

He flashed her a smirk. "You look lovely when you're all dolled up like that.. Mind if I come in?"

Hoshio's lips pursed and she tried to remain planted on the ground, but once he stepped forward she had to stumble back.

"I  _do_  mind, actually," she countered, still reluctantly backing away from him. He only laughed at her, and as she walked backwards he managed to corner her against a wall. She knew immediately she was in trouble once she felt the hard surface behind her,, but was unable to take her eyes off Laito's own. Not even as he lifted a hand and placed it near her face did her gaze flick away, but her bottom lip quivered when he suddenly ripped her mask from her face. Evidently, a reaction as small as that wasn't entertaining enough for Laitoーwho grew rather dissatisfied with her. He decided to prod into more personal matters.

"Did you learn anything from that maid you were with?"

For once, he actually sounded quite civil. One hand was propped up on the wall near Hoshio's ear, and his body was uncomfortably close to hers, but besides that his tone seemed... genuine? The woman's brows knitted together.

"She said you were a respectable man," Hoshio admitted.

"So you did ask about me~" He grinned wide, and his eyes slighted from behind his mask. "I was hoping you would. After all, you and I shared a...  _very_  intimate relationship before." His free hand came to clutch her chin, having long since abandoned her mask to the floor. He leaned down closer to her, his lips hovering over the shell of her ear.  _"I'd_ _love to ravish you now, dearest Hoshio, more than anything... but it seems we'll have to save that for after this soirée."_

She froze then, and felt all the color drain from her face. Her breath hitched as she leered away from him, but Laito's hands traveled down to grip her wrists, and he pinned those up beside her. He brought himself further down on her then, his mouth kissing along her jaw and down her neck and across her collarbone.

"...L-Lai..." she sputtered out. Her wrists fought for freedom, but it was useless.  _Who on earth was I_ , she thought indignantly,  _having acquainted myself with this perverted buffoon?!_ With her mindset now, she was very certain she'd never have agreed to live in the same house as this creature. She glared daggers at the man. "Get  _off_  me, Laito!"

But he continued to plant sweet butterfly kisses along her jaw, in ways that were wet and tense and uncomfortable on her skin. As she kept struggling and bellowing for him to release her, he whispered in a tone just as stern as her furious expressions:

" _Do you know what I am, Hoshi_ _o_ _?_ "

Her brows knitted together. Her glare turned into a vacant confusion, though was still fierce nonetheless, as she wondered what he meant by that. He might have been expecting a sarcastic response, but... just the context of his question was something she couldn't place.

"I can show you~..." he continued. At that point, his mouth had found its way back to her neck, and she felt his tongue glide across her skin. Shivers crept down her spine at the touch, and her fingers twitched from their restrained position above her head.

" _You disgusting brute_ ー _!_ "

"Now, now..." Laito hummed. He shifted his arms then, so that only one hand held up her wrists. With the other, he tipped her chin up, exposing a larger portion of her neck to him. He then opened his mouth wide, as if he was about to bite into her. She thought it silly to think a person would do such a thing, though..

But then again, it was also reckless to assume Laito was anything but short of normal.

So she flinched. Unsure what to expect from him, her eyes screwed shut, and she gave up on battling him. She merely stood still, open for him to do anything he pleased. That was what Laito was going for, after all... But her sudden resignation left him more annoyed than anything. He pulled away for it. An incredibly tense silence flooded the room, so quiet that Hoshio was sure she'd only be able to hear her own breathing. But there was nothingーnot even the sound of her pounding heart, despite how fearful she felt. Laito offered a stare that was both gauging and crude.

"That's it?" he asked. Hesitantly, Hoshio's eyes reopened. She was met with an unrelenting grimace. "Why are you so willing to accept your fate? Don't you care at all?"

She didn't respond. He was looking a bit stern, but then grew wry, and finally a rueful smile crossed his lips. He released her. As she brought her arms down with a slight uncertainty struck on her face, he moved to pet the top of her head. He was gentle—touching her so softly, as if she were a kitten. However it was still unnerving to feel his touch, and she shrunk away from.

"Sorry..." he said. He didn't sound the least bit regretful. "I shouldn't play around with you too much right now.." And his grin grew wider, his expression returning to its usual coquettish flair. Hoshio was aghast.

"What's with that look?" The red-haired man laughed. "Are you mad?"

" _Mad?!_ " Hoshio cried incredulously. "How could you even  _ask_  that?!" Her fury toward him just continued to swell up the longer she looked at him. She then shoved him aside to storm past him, not looking back once as she exited the room. Laito made no moves to stop her. Instead he stood still, chuckling with a certain lunacy that could make anyone's chest sink in alarm.

When she stepped into the hallway, Hoshio saw someone standing outside. Reika bowed at her mistress's presenceーas if nothing out of the ordinary had just happened!

"I will lead you to Reiji-sama now," Reika said.

"Were you just watching all that?!" The other woman gasped. "You didn't think at all to intervene?! Honestly, who is the supervisor of this place?"

"...Hoshio-sama, pleaseー" Reika continued, but Hoshio was not in the mood to listen.

"Please,  _what?_  This place is a madhouse! I can't stay here!" And she ran in the other direction, gathering her skirt as she mazed her way through the identical-looking corridors. Reika wisped behind her, with footsteps so light that Hoshio could hardly hear them.

"Hoshio-sama, I'm sure Reiji-sama will handle any problems you have... even if they're with his own brother."

Hoshio snapped her head around for a quick second to shout, "Brother?! They must be scheming together, then!" And she sped off even faster. Reika sighed. She slowed to a halt then, watching briefly as the mahogany-haired woman turned another corner and disappeared further into the mansion.

"Hoshio-sama..." she muttered to herself. Another deep, patient sigh escaped her. "I didn't want to do this, but you leave me no choice..."


	7. Mains Chaudes

Laito stepped into the foyer, running a hand through his hair as he leaned against one of his family's many loveseats. He had his smirk on as usual, but the other men in the room were not so amused.

"Where were you?" Reiji queried. He didn't seem to be the mood for any cleverness. "And where is Hoshio? We're running late."

"I was just asking her some things," Laito shrugged. He then plopped down on the sofa in front of him, and stretched his legs out over the armrest.

"Is that why the maid is chasing her around upstairs..?" Kanato asked. "...She seems angry."

"Of course Laito would scare her off," Ayato rolled his eyes. "So? Who's gonna go get her?"

"The maid will handle it," Reiji assured, knowing he had spoken to Reika already before. From beside him, Kanato glared off into space. He had been more than willing to volunteer himself, but Reiji paid him no mind. He merely adjusted his glasses and burrowed his arms, which were clad in the same crimson blazer as Laito.

Or rather... the  _entirety_ of the Sakamaki brothers wore a uniform color scheme: black and garnet. Their masks were perfect replicas of each other, too; and Hoshio, though she was running amok upstairs, fit in nicely with this ominous blood-red theme.

And wisping through the halls in that crimson ballgown only enhanced that sort of sinister atmosphere. Hoshio darted round one corridor and down another, her breaths hitched and heavy. At this time she was especially grateful to not be wearing a corset; she knew she couldn't have managed to push herself this hard with a restricted abdomen.

She came to yet another split in the halls. The left side seemed to be glowing white, as if a door or window was on the other end of it, and so Hoshio chose to turn that way. Unfortunately, however, she miscalculated. It was not an exit around the left side, rather—Reika was standing there. She stood as still as a doll, that same vacant look on her face as always; but this time the air around her was especially dangerous.

"When didー?!" Hoshio gasped and spun around. More servants had appeared from behind her, and had successfully blocked the young woman between them. Sirens began blaring in Hoshio's head, and she cautiously stepped toward the wall.

"Hoshio-sama," Reika said. "Must we resort to force?"

"I will  _not_  be seeing Laito again," her mistress insisted, crossing her arms and ignoring any fear she might have felt then. She was certain she looked just like a spoiled, stubborn princess at that moment, but she was fine with that if it meant she could slight the chances of being forced into this masquerade. She was willing to listen to Reika, but the minute Laito showed up she felt abhorrent about everything all over again.

"There is no harm in attending a crowded soirée," Reika persuaded. "You won't even notice him there."

Hoshio's lips pursed. "Will you be attending, then, Reika?"

"No. The aristocrat hosting this event has prohibited the presence of any servants. Your only escorts will be the six members of the Sakamaki family... whom you have met four of already, as you probably know."

Her mistress's tight lips widened again into a scowl. "There are  _more?_  And they're all brothers?"

"They are all brothers," Reika echoed. "Now, are you finished with your tantrum? Unless we leave soon, you'll be late. And do you really want to be late?" The maid paused. "...All eyes will be on you when you arrive late. And considering how beautiful we've made you, Hoshio-sama, someone will unquestionably be curious about the woman underneath that mask."

"That'sー" Hoshio began, then faltered. She felt incredibly uneasy. Her gaze traveled to the floor. "Surely there can be some exceptions, right..? I'm not well enough to attend. My head feels like it might explode, and my chest aches, and I can't even remember my own mother's name, soー"

Recognizing that quote from herself, Reika bowed her head. "My apologies. It was cruel of me to say that..."

"But that's besides the point!" Hoshio declared. She then swallowed, and lowered her voice. "I will go... if you stay with me."

"You're making things difficult, Hoshio-sama. You can't expect a maid to weasel into a noble's party. This man has more power than your entire family. Please, I ask that you act like the adult woman you are and listen to me."

Hoshio remained silent. Reika, relieved that her mistress was finally cooperating, stepped closer to her. She gently took her hands. It was a simple action, a simple touch, but the feeling of her maid's hands cradling her own slighted Hoshio's discomfort. She shut her eyes. What was this feeling? It was... calming, it eased her.

"This soirée will not kill you, or harm you, and you will not lose a thing. I will remain here for when you return, and I will listen if you wish to discuss the night. As for Laito-sama, I advise you to speak with Reiji-sama. He will take care of everything for you."

Hoshio opened her eyes. "...I'm sorry," she said. It was strange how comforting Reika's hands were; she had completely forgotten the reason why she had refused this soirée so insistently. When the maid released her to place her mask back on her face, she mourned the loss of her touch, and wished they could stay still like they were before.

...It was like magic, how soothing they were.

But Hoshio allowed Reika to lead her to the foyer, and she was met with an ensemble of people who were just as fancied up as she was. Reiji was the one who stepped forward first.

"Thank you, Reika," he said, and she bowed, before disappearing into the hallway's shadows. Hoshio's hands folded in front of her. This feeling that had washed over her all of a sudden... was this a spell? Not to say she wasn't enjoying it... She felt even more civil herself, much more so than before.

"Forgive my insolence earlier. I will not cause you trouble the rest of the evening," she promised, and lowered her head slightly. Reiji accepted her apology without a second thought.

Laito, on the other hand, perked up from his spot on the loveseat. His face was shrouded in an unreadable expression. A cool and collected Hoshio was not so hard to believe, but considering how frantic she was before... This was not believable, not in the slightest.

"Reiji," so he called out. Hoshio lifted her head as well, and the eyes of everyone in the room were on the fedora-donning brother. "What did you have that maid do..?"

"To Hoshio? Nothing," Reiji responded naturally. "She has just come to her senses. Now," he turned back to the green-eyed woman, "if we were not so short on time, I would formally introduce you to everyone, but I suppose we can speak in the limousine. Let's be off."

So Hoshio, alongside the Sakamaki family, exited the mansion.  
  
  


Laito stayed behind, however. He turned into a corridor, and Reika appeared, knowing well he was searching for her. He met her with a furious expression.

" _What_  did you do to her?"

"No need to jump to conclusions," Reika waved off. "Hoshio-sama was always responsible and mature, was she not? She's simply come to her senses, as Reiji-sama said."

Laito was unconvinced.

Reika tried again: "Her earlier fragility was due to nothing but the confusion that comes with memory loss. I advise you not to overthink things, Laito-sama. All of this... is unexpected."

"..."

He was still suspicious. If there was one thing he shared with his brother Ayato, besides their near identical appearances, it was that they both hated solving mysteries. Hoshio's sudden compliance was not natural in the slightest, and he couldn't stop blaming this maid for hiding something from him. But he was quickly reminded of the soirée he had to attend, and so huffed irritably before treading away. Hoshio, he figured, could clue him into what had happened between the time she was panicked and the time she had pacified herself.

He was stopped only when Reika spoke out again.

"Also," she said, "Hoshio-sama is quite frightened by you. Please be kind with her."

Laito sent her a look, then slammed the mansion door shut behind him. He disappeared into the darkness outside.


	8. Sang Bleu, Sang Rouge

The limousine rattled and bounded across the gravel road. Hoshio held a perfectly upright posture as she sat, sandwiched between Kanato and the wall. Kanato had thrown one of the largest tantrums she'd ever seen to take the seat beside her, which only opened Hoshio's eyes wider. She was embarrassed to have been as stubborn earlier as he was being now.

"Hey, Hoshii~" Kanato whispered. She wasn't sure when he started using that nickname with her. "I promised I wouldn't let you leave my sight, so stay with me, okay?" His voice was so soft, like a mother's warning to a child. Hoshio didn't respond.

"Hoshii~"  
  


"Hoshii.."  
  


" ** _Hoshii!_** "  
  
  


"Keep your voice down, Kanato," Reiji snapped. He had done his best to ignore his younger brother's nagging thus far, but no one could stand another tantrum. The female was still lost in thought.

Laito had been oddly silent throughout the entire ride. He spent the time glaring out the window while his fingers drummed its sill. His eyes would occasionally drift away from the passing scenery outside, but he would not look at Reiji, and he would not look at Hoshio.

"Oi," called Subaru, the youngest of the brothers. Not a single person in this limousine wore a smile on his face, and he was no exception. Subaru's glare, actually, might have been the nastiest of them all. "Stop tapping. It's pissing me off."

Laito turned away from the window, his fingers subtly curling in as he halted his movements. He then smiled.

"Aha~ You're right, my bad~ I just had a few things on my mind is all." He then glanced at Hoshio, whose lips were curved downward and whose eyes were half-lidded. "Hey, you look tired, Hoshi-chan~"

"I'm fine," she quickly dismissed, blinking a few times. She had been thinking of everything that had happened so far. Waking up to unfamiliar faces, being whisked away by those ghostly maids, letting them dress her for the soirée... and her memories.

A cupcake and a well. Her sister's face, her mother's voice. Those were all she had of her background. Presumably she was an aristocrat, given that they had maids. But these Sakamaki brothers... she still had no idea who they were.

"Hoshii... you responded to him, but not to me," Kanato continued from her side. Her eyes flicked toward him.

"Ah... I apologize," she mumbled. "What did you want again?"

Kanato's brows furrowed, and he turned away from her. "I won't say it if you're not going to listen," he said defiantly, and frowned to himself. Hoshio blinked again.

"I will listeー"

"You  _won't._ "

She paused, and pulled back, giving up dealing with him. She couldn't understand why he had to be so absolute. Neither of them said another word, allowing a moment of stiff silence to fill the empty space between them. Hoshio glanced around the limo. Everyone looked uncomfortable, but no one seemed the type for small talk.

Reiji had already introduced her to Shuu and Subaru, and that seemed to be the only bit of information he was willing to give her.

She wanted to think she deserved to know all the answers she sought... but wondered if it was too impolite to ask them forthright. Their treatment of her so far had assured her that she was nothing but an ignorant inconvenience now.

...Surely it wasn't  _her_ fault, though.

"...What is this gala for, exactly?"

"A gathering for vampires," Reiji answered. Hoshio jumped to ask more before she even had the chance to comprehend his response.

"What makes you a 'vampire'?"

Obviously, he couldn't have meant the mythological blood-sucking creatures. ...Right? He must've been joking, but his face was so serious. Though, upon hearing Hoshio's second inquiry, he cracked a small smile.

It wasn't just Reiji, however. From beside her, Kanato giggled, and Shuu chuckled to himself, and Ayato let out an amused scoff.

They laughed as if this was common knowledge! They couldn't be serious... Hoshio wondered if a 'vampire' was just what aristocrats used to refer to themselves. Maybe they suck out the wealth of the lower classes like a vampire would suck a human's blood.

 _...Is that even how aristocracy works? I've no clue_.

She sighed. If they wouldn't answer her, she'd just go with it. Though... it reminded her of another question.

"Am I a vampire?" she asked, rather dumbly. Laito smiled wide.

Though he sat a few seats away from her, he moved to climb over a few of his brothers in order to reach her. Hoshio furrowed her brows as he approached, and his brothers were not too pleased to have Laito strewn across them either, but he remained firm. The female raised her hands to prevent him from coming any closer. Her eyes darted over to Reiji when that failed to stop him. It worried her to think she'd come to rely on Reiji to intervene, but at this point she was desperate.

...Although, he too failed to come to her rescue. Laito didn't spare a moment in tugging down the collar of his own shirt. He kept that crazed grin on his face the entire time, before exposing his neck to her.

"Why don't you try and find out?" he teased.

Hoshio narrowed her eyes.

"That isn't what I meant," she dismissed, trying to keep her composure. What a weirdo! Who in their right mind would offer their neck for someone to just bite like that? "I meant the class. You know, vampires," she explained. "...Is that not what a vampire is?"  
  
  


It took Hoshio a moment to realize no one understood what she was saying. Her shoulders slumped in irritation. She felt as though her words made no sense, since not even Laito could respond.

"Fine, then," she sighed once more. "What exactly is a vampire? Surely not the fanged beast, right?"

"I can show you~" Laito hummed, and moved forward just a bit.

 _'I can show you_.' He said that once before.

His tone of voice had not changed, remaining as seductive as he always tried to keep it, but those specific words were enough to send shivers rolling down her spine. Hoshio felt her face pale even whiter than it already was. The memory of her encounter with Laito came fluttering back to her, and at this point she was beginning to question her own sanity. Already, that time he had harassed her had slipped her mindーand that was less than an hour ago. It was the whole reason why she didn't want to attend this party in the first place.

_...What was going on..?_

She really wanted to know why she was forgetting everything.

"Laito, sit down," Reiji instructed. That smirk never left the green-eyed boy's face, not even as he spun around to face his older brother. Meanwhile, Hoshio balled her fists up, her jaw clenching as she traveled through her thoughts again.

"Aw, Reiji~" Laito whined. "Don't act like you're not at all curious either~ We've never seen Hoshi-chan so shy!" He turned back to her, winking. "But you've always been this cute."

"I said _sit down_ ," Reiji hissed. Laito finally succumbed and slunk back into his seat. Not another word was spoken, leaving the tense silence to yet again seep into the limousine.

"...Um," Hoshio started. "You six... are all brothers, yes?" Although she was addressing the entire party, her gaze was locked on Reiji. He was the one comforting face in this sea of lunatics, for whatever the reason. Not even she knew why she came to fancy him. Perhaps it was due to his strict treatment of Laito, whom she despised.

"Yes," he said. It was only now that she noticed he was no longer wearing those glasses he had on earlier. His rose-pink eyes glistened in a bright contrast to the crimson mask around them, but Hoshio wondered if his vision was as blurry as her memories.

"And I..." she continued, but quickly added, "and Yui-san, are we also related to you?" She had never met the girl, but she heard her name mentioned once or twice and apparently she also lived in the mansion with them.

That was comforting, she thought, knowing she was not the only female here.

...But she wouldn't know why they chose to exclude her from this gala.

"No," Reiji denied. "You and Yui are both prospective brides given to us by the Church."  
  
  


Hoshio was completely surprised when he said that; it threw off the entire speculation she had formed about her own history. She had thought she was an aristocrat too, not a... 'prospective bride.' Whatever that meant.

However, Kanato added even more confusion to the truth when he sent Reiji an irritated glance.

"No, she isn't," he insisted, and the second-eldest returned the glare with an equally venomousーalbeit maintainedーtype of anger. "Don't lie to Hoshii when she's already pathetic as it is."

"Pathetic?" Hoshio cried incredulously. Of course she would be flustered by his trivial comments, but she had no intention of letting him call her that so freely. "If you weren't so adamant about keeping my identity hidden from meーwhich is  _especially_  suspicious, might I addーI wouldn't be so ignorant!"

"It's not like we want to~" Laito admitted, though his voice was far too singsongy to be sincere. Hoshio scowled.

"I can't think of a single good reason to keep someone's entire life a secret from them."

"But then again, you can't think of much of anything, can you?" Laito retorted. Hoshio's mouth shut. Only further proving his point, her mind went completely blank for a response.

"I would appreciate it if you would refrain from bickering for the remainder of the drive," Reiji sighed. "We will arrive there soon."

Laito simpered. "Fine~!" he said cheerfully. "I'm sorry, Hoshio~" He never sounded sincere. "I'll make it up to you, I promise."

...She knew that was not something she could look forward to.

Hoshio shook her head and straightened herself against the leather seat, hoping to just get this cursed soirée over with. If she had the chance to, she decided, she'd run as far away as she could from all of this.

She wasn't sure if it was just Laito or the overall aura of these brothers, but they were a bit too unsettling for her to tolerate. She had no desire to stay around them long.  
  
  
  
  


...Ah, if only running away was that simple..


	9. Une Appréhension Subtile

Hoshio stepped down from the limousine, her black stilettos echoing against the smooth cement beneath her. The air was chilly against her bare arms, and after examining her surroundings for a quick second, she looked to Kanato, who exited the vehicle after her.

"Must you really bring a stuffed animal to a soirée?" she asked, motioning toward Teddy. Although a part of her never wanted to witness a furious Kanato again, at the same time, poking fun at him inflated her confidence. It made her seem like she knew something, at least.

But perhaps Kanato was not the best person to play with.

"This is not just a 'stuffed animal,' stupid woman," he glowered. "Don't ever refer to Teddy as something as sorry as you." Kanato paused then, and his anger diminished, and in its place came a soft, inspired smile. "But you know, you would... look beautiful as a wax doll, Hoshii.."

And he laughed, and laughed, and Hoshio was exasperated with him. He was not someone she knew how to deal with, but she hated to watch him just cackle like that.

"Now, now, Kanato-kun~" Laito scolded as he climbed out of the limousine as well. "We don't want to scare her like I did~ Haha~"

A wider smile cracked across Kanato's face, and his eyes flicked back to Hoshio. "Are you scared of me now, Hoshii? Hey... Do you hate me, Hoshii? Do you? Would you be happy if I...  _died?_ "

"What are you  _talking_  about?" Hoshio furrowed her brows. "No, I'm not scared of you, I don't hate you, and why would I be happy if you died?" Then she, not waiting for a response, picked up her skirt and stormed into the ballroom.

It was not a very obvious location for a soirée. The building was disguised as a restaurant, the kind only celebrities would eat at. Hidden behind the waiter's desk in the front was a small, grey room. There were a few circular tables covered by white tablecloths, and at them sat crowds of people devouring feasts of meats and savory delicacies. There was no candlelight around, so darkness consumed its entirety. But that did not seem to impede the eaters, not in the slightest.

Laughter and clinking glasses echoed from the walls, and Hoshio could hear a muffled orchestra playing from somewhere. But she wondered if the ball was being held in one of the neighboring buildings, because as far as she could see this was a mere restaurant—nothing more. At least, that was until:

"Good evening, Hoshio-sama. Apologies for keeping you waiting."

A woman approached the waiter's desk, welcoming the clueless amnesiac with a respectful bow. Hoshio hoped that this was not a dinner reservation, but from the looks of things there was only a restaurant here and nothing else.  _That would be much worse than a soirée_ , she imagined,  _engaging in awkward small talk with those Sakamaki brothers_ _around a dinner table._

"Good evening," Hoshio responded. The waitress tilted her head to the side questioningly, and Hoshio began to grow anxious, thinking she had done something wrong already.

"Forgive my rudeness, Hoshio-sama, but... where is the rest of your party?"

Hoshio turned around to look behind her, and noticed that none of the brothers had followed her inside. From what she could see through the window, they were not standing outside, either, and the limousine had already driven away.

_...They wouldn't... ditch me here, would they..?_

Though she thought that, it wasn't necessarily a bad thing. If they were gone, it meant she was free—and she'd never have to see Laito's face again. It was actually rather convenient. ...But they did say she lived with them. Even if her memory was frazzled, there were certain responsibilities she couldn't just neglect. For one, how would she get her finances? She was rich, wasn't she?  
  


"The rest of the Sakamaki party has already come in, Chie," another waiter called out to the one standing before Hoshio. The one known as Chie nodded her head, not thinking much of it, but Hoshio blinked. She was having trouble figuring out how they could have possibly gotten in before her. They were such a large group; she was sure she would have noticed them pass by.

...But that was rather convenient, too. She could escape now, without any troubles, presumably.

"There is, um," Hoshio started, looking around, "a soirée being held here tonight, isn't there?"

"Ah, yes, that will be right through there," Chie pointed to the left, where there was... a wall. No door, no entranceway. But Hoshio decided it probably must have just been hidden in the darkness. She nodded graciously, deciding she would just peek inside to see, and then she would run away. It wasn't the most clever of ideas when she was trying to escape, but she was... curious. After all, she was all dressed up for it; might as well take a look.

However, as she moved toward the door, something hit her like a storm. It was an incredibly violent sensation, one that parched and itched up her throat as if she had never had a drink in her life. She'd never felt a thirst so severe—nor so dramatic. Quickly, she turned back to the waitress, one hand covering her mouth. She coughed quite a few times. Her breaths were used only to muster out:

"Could... I have a glass of water, please?"

She wasn't sure why she got this parched, but who knows when she last had something to drink? Growing light-headed and passing out would not do her any good during her escape.

"Of course, Hoshio-sama. I'll get it right away." Chie bowed and ran off somewhere, and it was only then that Hoshio realized she had never given that waitress her name. She tried not to let it get to her.

Chie returned not a moment later with a clear glass of ice water in her hands, and when Hoshio saw it, she immediately snatched it from her and gulped down the entire thing. Her throat was parched dry, and the itch was progressively worsening, but this water did nothing at all. She warily handed it back to Chie.

"A-another... please.."

The waitress raised a brow. "Forgive me for saying this, Hoshio-sama, but are you certain you want water? The host of tonight has so graciously provided fresh human blood for his guests." Chie then lowered her voice, leaning a bit further toward Hoshio. "Our customers here are not allowed to attend the soirée, though, so I wouldn't want to tempt them."

Hoshio looked up at the diners mercilessly rumbling through their meals, drunk on the taste of roasted meats and mulled white wine, before she realized what Chie had just said.  _Human blood_ ー _?!_

"...Pardon?" Her voice nearly cracked. "You said... human...  _what?_ " She took a step backward, a nasty feeling pitting in her stomach. It almost distracted her from the dryness in her throat. But Chie did not recognize her unease and instead leaned up against the counter, twirling a few strands of hair between her fingers.

"I hear those humans were bred specifically for you aristocrats~ Ahh, it must be nice..." She sighed, her hands pressed up against her puffed cheeks. But then she looked at Hoshio and became embarrassed, and squeaked as she moved to cover her mouth. "I'm so sorry, Hoshio-sama! I rambled on..." Chie's eyes fluttered shut. "It's probably because of the eclipse that's supposed to happen in a few days. It's making me all harebrained. Oh, but you seem out of it, too, huh? I guess even people as powerful as you are affected this early... And there I go again, blabbering on... I really am sorry..."

Chie seemed rather dazed, droning on while only half-paying attention to the woman in front of her. Meanwhile, Hoshio was steadily backing up. She could not describe it, but as relaxed as this waitress seemed, she was utterly terrifying. She  _really_  just said they were serving human blood!

"...Excuse me," Hoshio dismissed, and bolted out the door. She hurried down the sidewalk, tearing off her mask so that she could rub her eyes with as much aggression as she could. She swallowed and swallowed, desperate to moisten the inside of her mouth—but nothing was working! Her thirst was growing more and more unbearable. By the time she was halfway down the block, her gait began to stagger. She passed by someone on the sidewalk, and somehow the smell of their cheap perfume only worsened Hoshio's patience. She felt like she could shatter at any given moment.

And eventually she had to swing herself against the wall of an alleyway, just to catch her breath, and her hand rose up to feel her neck. She placed two fingers on her tongue, only to drag them along her muscle, feeling the need to suck on something. She realized she'd already begun to drool all over herself.

She needed something to drink so terribly. It got to the point where she'd gladly run back to the Sakamaki family—even Laito—if she could have just a taste of... of... of...

_Of what..?_

Suddenly, a human walked by.


	10. La Chaîne Alimentaire

The man who strolled by stole one quick glance at Hoshio, the Hoshio whose breaths were frantic and whose face was smothered in her own saliva. ...And he began to speed up.

However, at this point, Hoshio was desperate. She crawled out of the shadows to latch onto the man's arm, successfully tugging him back into the alley with her. She clasped a hand over his mouth before he even had a chance to scream, then shoved him up against the wall. His muffled cries rang out from under her palm.

He might have been much taller than Hoshio was, but he found himself unable to do anything as the starved woman leaned in close to his neck. Just one whiff of his warm, sweat-stained skin was enough to send her over the edge, as much as it disgusted her to think so. So with one hand squeezing his mouth, and the other pinning his hand up, she bit into his skin with as much power as she could. Almost immediately, a sweet, luscious flavor filled her tastes. She groaned as she sucked out more of his blood.

The man cried out and gnawed on Hoshio's palm, doing anything he could to get her off him. His one free hand tried to pull at her hair, but his fingers had all fallen limp from fright, and his eyes had rolled up to the sky, the rest of his body quivering beneath her.

Eventually Hoshio had to take into consideration the height disadvantage and threw him to the ground. She continued with her meal, though, biting different areas of his neck until his skin was just as dappled with holes as that time Hoshio hallucinated in the mirror. Even when he passed out, she continued to drink from him, drinking while taking curt breaths through her nose; she couldn't stand to pull her lips away from him. The blood flooding her mouth was incredibly addicting, and she drank it as if this was the last time she'd ever get to taste it.

However eventually there was nothing left to take from him. She had to pull away, and wiped her mouth on her bare wrist. She pulled herself up and off his body, sliding onto the cement beneath. Her eyes closed as she sat on the ground, and she sighed out in satisfaction.

...Her thirst had disappeared.

"And here I thought..." she murmured to herself, swallowing, "here I thought vampires were nothing but myths..."

Hoshio gazed up at the night sky, at the moon that was not quite full yet, and felt a gentle breeze brush up against her cheeks. Her thumb rolled over her bottom lip, savoring the last bit of sweetness, before she once again looked back down at the man.

She froze.

That man was living not moments ago; he was breathing and thinking and praying and  _hoping_ he would be spared some mercy, and Hoshio crushed up his life regardless. A panic surged through her. This guy was  _someone_ ーmaybe even an acquaintance of hersーand she just...

_What did I do?!_

It took this long for everything to dawn on her! She just forcibly restrained a living person and took his life, not even thinking twice about it! Her hands flew up to shield her mouth, and tears began to bubble at the edges of her eyes. When she looked down at herself, she noticed there was blood staining her skirt and bodice and the cement below, and the man was nothing more than a battered corpse. His skin had lost its color and his skull had cracked, as Hoshio had not been too careful when tossing him to the ground. She wriggled in disgust as she hopped up, trying to distance herself from the sight.

"N-no..!" she whispered, and anxiously looked around, as if that could help anything. Her breath caught when she heard footsteps approaching from the alleyway's entrance. She could only hope that wasn't another humanーwho knew what might have come over her if she met another one? And what would they do... if they saw a corpse?

Her tears streamed down further; she was not the best at situations like this!

Part of her hoped it would be one of the Sakamaki brothers. As miserable as she felt sitting in their presence, she had a feeling they could help her; they were vampires themselves, after all. And as far as she knew, one of them was probably the vampire who turned her. Ah, but, what if this man came back from the dead, as a vampire too?

Would he hate her?

Was she supposed to ease him into a vampire lifestyle?

...Or was he truly dead?

Hoshio's mind was running in circles, haunted by a fear that might have been able to rival her poor victim's.

But it was not a Sakamaki who stepped into view. There were two of them, two young men, and the first one she met was quite possibly the tallest person she'd ever seen before. The other couldn't hold a candle to his companion's height, but he was still handsome in his own right. Hoshio scrambled away from them.

"Please leave," she begged. She raised a hand, signaling for them to stop, but they did not oblige, and only stepped closer and closer. From their scent, she realized they were vampires, and wondered if they were coming to prey on  _her_ , just as she'd done to that unfortunate man lying there beside her.

...But vampires fed on humans. She knew it so well already; she had not been overcome with desire when in the presence of Chie or Reiji or any of the other Sakamaki's. It was the humans, specifically, whose scents got to her. So there shouldn't be a reason for these people to attack her, a vampire just like them. ... _Right?_

The taller of the pair spoke first.

"Oi, it's jus' Shio," he noted. It took Hoshio much longer than it should have to realize that that was a nickname for  _Hoshio_. Her guard lowered only slightly when a small curiosity came over her. It was strange how so many people seemed to recognize her here. The other one came up close to her, jutting his nose right in her face.

"Aw~ What's a lost kitty doing in this dark and creepy alley~?" He mewled. Peering through the darkness, Hoshio could see his facial features, and had to admit he was much more handsome than she thought could be possible. With sweeps of curled blonde hair settled on the top of his head, and bangs that covered his right eye, his white face curiously gazed at her. His one visible eye was bright and blue and twinkled in the moonlight.

Hoshio's bloodied lips parted, bewildered, but she quickly snapped out of it. She picked herself up and ran past them to the street, wishing to salvage a bit more alone time before having to face anyone. More time to mourn over herself, let the guilt and regret soak up her soul. It did come to a relief, though, that the two boys seemed familiar with her. Perhaps they'd let her go.

...But the taller one called out to her before she could turn the corner.

"Hold up, Shio," he said, jogging right towards her. She narrowed her eyes at him, though it wasn't the most convincing of glares due to the tears rolling down her cheeks. Still, she held her ground.

"What do you want?"

"I wanna know what the  _hell_ you're doin' out here," he snapped. "You jus' killed somebody."

Hoshio's eyes darted momentarily to the corpse, and her lips quivered, and then she met the tall boy in the eye again.

"I-I know," she stammered.

"C'mon, it's not her fault, Yuma~" the blonde boy laughed. "That guy shouldn't have been wandering so close to vampire territory in the first place. Besides, he's the only human I can smell around these parts." He then sniffed the air, as if to exaggerate his point, and smiled. "Yup! If anything, he's lucky Hoshirin got to him first."

Hoshio's stomach churned, and she turned away, resting the palm of her hand against the wall. This was too much for her to register. Of course, she shamed herself for not even considering that Reiji's earlier mention of 'vampires' actually meant...  _vampires_ , but she still felt appalled. Nearly everyone in this town was a vampire—she smelt it so. She hadn't even realized it until she had a human to compare their scents to. And this blonde vampire spoke of murder and death without the slightest shred of sympathy!

'He's  _lucky_  Hoshirin got to him first,' he had said.

"That ain't the point, though," Yuma growled. "Now we got a dead body to deal with."

At that, Hoshio paused.  _We?_

"It's only one~ Nothing difficult," his companion countered. Hoshio blinked.  _They were..._

"...You're not going to turn me in?" She asked.

Yuma tore his gaze away from the dead man's body, his narrow brown eyes boring into Hoshio's own. "Aah? Why would we do that?" This wasn't something she should have been worrying about now, but she wished he wasn't so loud. Someone would probably hear them, and then they'd all be caught. So she motioned to the corpse, ensuring to keep her own voice as quiet as she could.

"...But he'sー"

"Nya~ Don't worry, Hoshirin~! You seem pretty stressed out today, so maybe you deserved something nice, ya know?" The blonde boy grinned at her. Hoshio couldn't suppress her sniffles. She was disgusted by how happy she felt, hearing that they weren't going to take her in; this entire situation did not sit well with her.

She killed a man, with completely genuine murderous intent, and that was unforgivable. She could not understand how these two boys were being so easygoing about it. ...And how  _she_ had beenso fine with it, during the actual act itself.

"How can you say something like that..?" she whispered, and wiped one side of her face. "Please don't pretend this is all okay... I've become a  _murderer._ " She turned around to cry harder, too prideful to let them see her sobbing face, but she couldn't suppress her misery. If only her amnesia had waited to strike  _after_  today, then she wouldn't have to live the rest of her life knowing she killed someone.

But the two males were just as confused as she had been when she first woke up.

"...Shio, are ya half-asleep or somethin'?" Yuma questioned.

"I thought her first kill was decades ago..?" the other one said.

"Yeah, I thought that too. An' anyway, why'd you even come to this soirée if you're feelin' all sorry about it now?"

When Yuma stepped forward after that, as a last attempt to tend to her, another person quickly slid between them. The newcomer was swift to block him from reaching the raw-hearted Hoshio. She peeked up and met with the back of a tall, perfectly-postured physique, someone with an elegant sweep of black hair and a crimson blazer that matched her ballgown. She clenched the fabric of her skirt in her fists.

"Honestly," Reiji sighed. "This is what happens when I entrust anything to Kanato..."


	11. Sentiments Mitigés

"Honestly," Reiji sighed. "This is what happens when I entrust anything to Kanato..."

When the second-eldest member of the Sakamaki family came into view, Hoshio had an overwhelming urge to embrace him. His arms were crossed and he was standing with his back wide open for her to tackleーbut she withheld herself, instead lowering her gaze. Reiji stared directly at the dead man's body.

"This far just to get out of a soirée? My, and you called  _us_  the lunatics," Reiji commented, shaking his head. "And you, Mukami. Keep your hands to yourself."

Hoshio's eyes flicked up to Yuma. "H-he wasn't going to do anything," she hiccuped, defending him with all her might. She had no reason to, other than that it was something to focus onーinstead of that corpse lying there beside them. She swallowed. Hoping she wouldn't stutter again, she continued: "E-e-even if he was, nothing could compare tー"

Her breath hitched, and she squeezed her eyes shut as more tears fell. They curled down her cheeks and dampened her palms, and a throbbing began to manifest itself near her right eye. Reiji furrowed his brows. He turned around fully to tend to her, with one arm falling to his side and the other reaching out to her.

"Now, you've made a mess of yourself. Come here," he said, motioning for her to come closer. However she stepped further away from him, hiding behind the corner's wall. Her face was sticky with literal blood, sweat, and tears, and she wore the most threatening expression she could muster. The air around her was dedicated entirely to warding him off. But he only sighed, and did not back down in the slightest. "I'm not going to harm you. Come here."

Still, she refused.

The blonde boyーwhose name would eventually reveal to be Kouーwas the one who spoke first after that, taking the chance to appease his nagging curiosity.

"Hey~ What's wrong with her, anyway? She's been acting out of it today... It's kind of cute, actually, but still.."

"Hoshio is not very fond of soirées," Reiji explained quickly, leaving an open-mouthed Hoshio to writhe, "and she has been throwing a tantrum all night."

"...What?" she whispered, gathering her wits. That didn't last for long, though. "I might have been fine with this if  _you_  weren't so secretive! How was I supposed to know I needed human blood to satisfy this thirst?! What else should you have told me?!" She subconsciously glanced back down to the bloodied corpse, and her heart pounded, before a new wave of tears washed over her. It took all of her willpower to keep her voice from cracking.

"Do not raise your voice with me," Reiji lectured. "I already told you that we were attending a gathering for vampires. You should have been able to deduct from that that you were one as well. You were the one who chose not to believe me."

"...You couldn't expect me to believe something like that!" She snapped, rubbing away the smears on her lips. Reiji stepped forward and pulled a handkerchief from his pocket, and began to dab at the corners of her lips. Hoshio swatted him away.

"I'm not a child; stop it," she hissed. He continued regardless.

"I can assure you that you're much more foolish now than you were when you actually were a child," he jeered. As he spoke, he took a step to the side, subtly blocking the splintered corpse below from her view. Hoshio's focus remained on his face, and she was not having him at all.

"Oh, shut up! You're probably the one who wiped my memory anyway—even Reika said so, that she wasn't allowed to tell me anything because you told her not to!" Hoshio glared right into Reiji's eyes—the ones that reminded her so much of sweet rose flowers—and huffed. Though he didn't deny it, he did not exactly admit to it either. He continued to wipe away the bits of her last meal from her face, and his silence gave the two Mukami siblings the opportunity to speak.

"Hah?" Yuma started, facing Hoshio. "Shio's got amnesia?"

"Mhm," Hoshio hummed rather pensively, as she was not in the mood to explain this to them. "I woke up this morning and wasn't sure where I was... I'm still not sure."

No one commented on the fact that she said "this morning" instead of "this evening," but Reiji was particularly irked by it. Humans were the ones who associating mornings with waking up—rarely ever vampires, and  _especially_  not vampires who were in such a raw and instinct-driven state like Hoshio. She should not have been able to even think of that phrase, he thought. But he did not say a word.

"Where were you when you woke up?" Kou questioned. At this point, the memory of the deceased man beside them had completely slipped Hoshio's mind.

"Reiji's family's mansion... I think." She looked to Reiji for clarification, whose silence gave her all the affirmation she needed. Her tears had already dried up and her heart was no longer pounding in her chest; her headache had flittered away as well. It was as if the murder never happened. And the soulless body lied there forgotten.

"Nowhere strange then," Yuma concluded, and Kou tapped his chin.

"Weird. And you guys have no idea what caused it?" He asked Reiji.

"No, we do. She was prodding around somewhere she shouldn't have been—I suppose it was inevitable that she returned with some sort of repercussion."

"Eh~ I see~" Kou nodded understandably. "But you can never forget a pretty face like mine, can you? Remember me~?" He shoved his face very close to Hoshio's, much too close for a comfortable conversation with anybody. In her attempts to move away from him she hit her head on the wall behind her, and for the second time that night, she looked to Reiji for help—which he ignored.

"I-I don't," she said. "Sorry." But she did get the chance to stare long and hard at Kou, taking in every mesmerizing detail of his face. At least he was in tune with himself—for he was very pretty indeed. Practically an angel. But upon hearing her answer, he twisted his lips to the side, pouting through offended puppy-eyes.

"It's Kou! Kou Mukami~!"

"Oh... Nice to meet you," Hoshio offered, feeling a bit shy. It was a terribly awkward feeling to be in the presence of someone who was already familiar with her, while she couldn't even recall his name. _Like my own mother_ , Hoshio thought despairingly. Her mind trailed to that elderly woman from her memories. And her sister, who was so beautiful, and the well, and the cupcake. That was all she had of herselfーwell, besides what the people had called her.

 _An aristocrat, Hoshio-sama, who was also a prospective bride_. Although Kanato claimed that the piece about being a bride was false, Hoshio was confident that she must be  _someone_ important _._ Even the plain waitress Chie knew her on the spot, and gushed about how lucky she was for being able to dine at the night's aristocratic soirée.

It made senseーshe had maids, after all. Perhaps she  _was_ a prospective bride for a member of the Sakamaki family, so that their rich families could form connections with each other. Perhaps she was living with them to decide which one to marry.

But they were not suitable for her, not at all. They were far too crude and rough. It was odd enough that six adult brothers still lived together, but Hoshio supposed rich children could not leave the nest until they were married off to another respectable family. As things were, she'd much rather prefer someone like Yuma or Kou. And they seemed to be aristocrats too; they were dressed in the same onyx and crimson, and wore the same gold-lined masks.

...Maybe the soirée wouldn't be so terrible, if people like them were attending. The Mukami brothers seemed sweet enough; it might have just been the Sakamaki family that was questionable. She considered it.

"Now then," Reiji coughed. Though it was subtle, he was beginning to sound impatient. As if he wished Hoshio would refrain from speaking anymoreーand let him handle the rest. "We've covered Hoshio's reasoning for being out here, however... you two have yet to explain why you are idling around these parts. Where are the other two?"

"Ruki's still at the hotel, said he had to do somethin' first," Yuma said without skipping a beat. "An' Azusa wandered off after we passed the shopping district... Bet he probably stopped at some cutlery store. We were jus' lookin' for him when we found Shio."

"You're staying at a hotel?" Reiji questioned.

"It's only a two-hour drive from our place, but Kou has a couple concerts in the area this week, an' it just makes the commute easier."

"And also they have a waterpark!" Kou exclaimed.

"Yeah, but no one's there 'cause it's ten fuckin' degrees this time of year," Yuma rolled his eyes.

"That's not true~! I went there last night and there were tons of people there—some of them even asked for autographs!"

"With that aside," Reiji cut in, bringing the attention back to him. He was sounding more and more irritated. "We should be off. Regards to that prim-faced brother of yours." And he took Hoshio by the arm, rather firmly, and dragged her back to the soirée building. She stumbled to keep up with him, looking back only once before the sight of both Mukami brothers was cut off by the passing wall. The two boys were just as taken aback by the sudden abruptness, though Yuma snapped to attention.

"Fine, jus' leave us with some dead body to deal with!!" He shouted after them. Reiji did not answer, but it stirred the female vampire, as she suddenly remembered the taste of that man's blood—and the entirety of what had just occurred. She cringed to herself, and clenched the sleeves of Reiji's blazer tighter. Holding onto him like that brought her some comfort, at least.

If only Reiji would allow her that much... but Reiji was not the kindest of souls, especially not when his patience was wearing so thin.


	12. Volette au Loin

"Reiji-san," Hoshio started, eyes glued to her shoes. She was trying her hardest not to trip over her own dress, but she could barely feel her legs. Cold air swept from all around them, which was probably whyーbut Hoshio blamed her numbness on the murder she just committed.

"Ignore them," Reiji said. He continued to walk back toward the soirée, holding onto Hoshio's arm so tightly that she thought he might be bruising it. She furrowed her brows.

"But theー"

"Will you make me repeat myself? Ignore it."

"No, sweetie, listen to mー!"

At that, Reiji nearly exploded. He spun around to shove Hoshio up against the wall, one hand curling around her neck. He then glowered at her, and this was the first time Hoshio had ever seen him so angry. She could not even be frightened by him; she was too shocked by his sudden violent outburst. She hadn't meant to call him 'sweetie' eitherーshe didn't know what possessed her. But Reiji didn't address that. Instead:

"If you insist on disobeying me," he said slowly, in a voice that could send chills to the bone, "I will have to punish you." His fingers tightened around her, and she moved to dig her fingernails under his hand, trying to pry him off.

"Reiー!" she wheezed, which only seemed to irritate him further.

"You're  _embarrassing_ ," he spat. "Just like..." He swallowed away whatever else he was going to say, letting his grip grow stronger and stronger. "Why must you be so fond of mimicking these simple-minded animals...?" He then struck her across the face with his free hand, and she frantically clawed at his other. In order to suppress her winces, she bit down on her teeth as hard as she could. That would not relieve the lack of air flowing into her lungs, nor the sting blazing across her cheek, but she felt the need to anyway.

She could not muster the strength to speak anymore either. It took all of her willpower to keep herself upright, however that might have been useless, too. For Reiji moved to strike once more, this time releasing her neck as he did so. Hoshio was unable to brace herself and collapsed onto the ground.

She cared more about savoring the fresh air than she was worried about the impact of her fall. As soon as she caught herself with her arms she gulped up as much of that sweet air as she could, regaining her breath, before she finally snapped her attention back toward the rose-eyed male. She was still in pain, and felt extremely small, but would always look up at him with as much menace as she could fit into an expression. A crazed grin crossed Reiji's masked face.

"Now look at yourself. You've lessened into a mere dog. Is this what you wanted?"

She could not respond. She only watched as he stepped closer to her, then closed her eyes, wishing she could just flutter away. Reiji plucked the glove off his right hand, pulling it finger by finger, before he folded it neatly and slipped it into his pocket. He then reached down to take Hoshio's chin.

Her eyes opened again once she felt the ice of his skin taking hold of her, and it seemed to freeze her in place, too. Every bit of her came to still. Her wide green eyes were shimmering up at him, and she tried her hardest not to tear up. She had to remain hostile, however confused she was. For this made no sense at allーshe had thought Kanato and Laito were the ones she was supposed to be avoiding, not  _Reiji_... And for what reason..? She didn't know. Not at all. She felt betrayed, she knew that much.

"Answer me, Hoshio."

She kept quiet. The pain and stings and aches she felt were slowly fading out, mending themselves, and Hoshio didn't realize they would heal that fast. Judging from how sore she was, she'd think it would take at least a week. But all of the proof of her abuseーthe red mark across her cheek, the way she hit her back when she was flung to the asphaltーit all disappeared.

The intensity of a vampire's regenerative abilities went far over her head.

However even with the pain subsiding, Hoshio could not bring herself to move. Reiji wasn't even restraining her; it was the fear and unease welling up in the pit of her stomach. And this, he knew very well.

"I expect you to take responsibility," he said. "Becoming so frail like this... You're not at all ashamed? Disgraceful." His thumb pressed against Hoshio's bottom lip, and she had half a mind to bite him. But in the moment, she could not even quiverーher entire body had iced over. He slapped the side of her face again. She bit down on the inside of her cheek as her head was smacked aside, and tasteless blood streamed into her mouth.

"Go on, speak up," Reiji urged. "Admit to it: 'I am filthy and worthless, no better than a lousy sewer rat.'"

Her head remained low, face twisted into a nasty grimace as she thought about ways to kill this person. Her fangs were not too out of the question now. Far too much had gone on emotionally in the past two hoursーand she felt like screaming. A part of her hoped for Reika to come rescue her, but she knew that would never happen now.

Reiji himself looked as though he might maim something should she not listen to him. Despite that, taking a breath and sucking up to him was something her pride would not allow. Obliging such a humiliating demand, she thought, would be so much worse than a beating.

"...I will  _not_ ," she said finally. Reiji's hand found its way around her neck again, and he drove her to the ground. She felt something crack beneath her, but the second she was struck with pain, it began to dissolve again. Her breaths were warped, her windpipes restricted, but she did not struggle against him. She laid there, simply wishing for this to end.

"This is precisely what I mean," Reiji said. "You've lost your elegance. Letting mindless animals ravish you without so much of a bite backーwhat sort of defeatist attitude is that?" As he spoke, he continued to crush Hoshio further and further beneath him. If she ignored the fluctuating amounts of pain, she would have been worried that the ground might crumble beneath her. However she kept her focus solely on Reiji's bright rose-hued eyes. Her mind was running in circles and it felt as though she was trying to breathe underwater, so she needed  _something_ to preoccupy herself with. Reiji simpered.

"Or rather... are you  _enjoying_  this?"

"N-not at all," Hoshio insisted ruefully. Her mouth moved before she had a chance to think. "I just f.. find it interesting that," she stammered, "you h-have the... audacity to call  _me_ embarra... embarrassing when yo...  _you're_ the one who lugs those o-other clowns around..!"

She had meant that in reference to two of the triplets, the insensitive Laito and the maniacal Kanato, but whether or not Reiji recognized that was left up to interpretation. He did, however, pause to digest her words, momentarily releasing her as he chuckled to himself. They were dark, sinister laughs, that did not make Hoshio feel relieved in the slightest. If anything, they frightened her more than she was when she heard Kanato's own gigglesーand those, she had thought, would haunt her forever.

"Oh, Hoshio," Reiji smiled crudely, once he had finished, "are you done playing pretend human?"

Hoshio felt her heart sink. All this talk about humans and vampires... She still couldn't believe they existed, that she was one of them too. She wanted to think maybe she  _had_  been human, and that someone turned her. If that was the case, she hoped now that it wasn't any of the Sakamaki brothers.

"Playing.. pretend," she echoed, whispering as she spoke. "I'm nー"

"You've even started adopting their phrases. Shedding tears without a care for who's watching. And that fear... adorning your delicate features... You disgust me." With that, Reiji ran his finger down Hoshio's jaw, and cut into her neck, letting a trail of blood trickle down her skin. Her face scrunched into a wince at that. She turned her head to the side, gnawing even more mercilessly at the inside of her cheek.

He cut again, even deeper, and licked the fluids off his fingers. It was only then that Hoshio began protesting again, and Reiji's hand moved back down to envelop her neck, keeping her in place. She kicked her feet frantically while he leered above her. Not a single shred of sympathy ever crossed his handsome face; that nasty smile found its way back to his lips.

"Oh, dear... you seem distressed," he taunted. He then leaned down close to her. "Have you fallen so low... that you would even beg for mercy..?"

Hoshio did not even comprehend what he just said, as the lack of air was growing fatal now. Her eyes squeezed shut and her fingers pulled at his arm, but no matter what she did he would not release her.

"Reiji-sa..!" She finally screamed, but soon fell out of breath. Her chest was rising without much of a pattern, heaving out as many breaths as she could. However the lack of oxygen in addition to the deep gashes in her neck proved to be too much for a conscious body to handle. One hand had risen in a last, feeble attempt to push at Reiji's shoulderー

and then her senses vanished.


	13. Leurs Fumées Toxiques

Yuma and Kou wandered past the boundaries of town, the only noise between them being the crunch of shriveled leaves beneath their shoes. The deceased man's body was flung over Yuma's shoulder.

"...You were quick to agree to this," Yuma noted, taking a small glance down at his brother. "Not in the mood to fight right now?"

Kou didn't say anything. His eyes were shut, and he stretched up, before sighing to himself. When he did end up speaking, he kept his gaze in front of him, feeling somewhat aloof.

"Are we giving that guy a proper burial, or should we just toss him in the river?" he asked. It was Yuma's turn to pause.

"...Dunno." Yuma admitted. He continued walking along, deciding not to pressure Kou into answering his earlier question. The popstar normally kept up his bubbly act even when his brothers were his only audience, so when he was silencing himself Yuma knew not to press into things.

They entered the grove, and a silent decision was made between them to lay the body in the river. Yuma gently laid his corpse on the soil, then stepped down the riverbank. He gathered lily pads and other plants that would help camouflage the man beneath them, moving them aside to make a clean gap for their deposit.

"...You don't find it odd," Kou started, watching the crystalline waters roil around, "that Hoshirin was just 'poking her head somewhere she shouldn't have been' and then  _boom!_ got amnesia? How do you accidentally wipe your memories?" He rubbed his nose, and removed his mask from his face, staring off at the trees around them.

"Yeah, well, I don't really give a shit what goes on at their place," Yuma responded, tossing some rocks out of his way. "We're only doin' this for Sow. But damn, I wish Ruki'd hurry up; I'm sick of being 'round those purebloods all the time."

Kou hummed to himself, taking a seat on the riverbank beside Yuma. He then furrowed his brows. "Anyway—did they even bring her with them?"

"Who? Sow?"

"Yeah," Kou affirmed. "Earlier, I couldn't smell any humans around here at all. And with someone whose blood smells as delicious as hers, we probably would have noticed, right?"

"Well... I mean yeah, they're stupid, but they're not gonna leave  _Sow_  of all people alone at their mansion. You were probably jus' too tired to notice 'er. And a lunar eclipse is happenin' soon too, ya know. Our senses get all weird around those..."

Kou sighed. "I guess so..."

Yuma walked back up the bank, to where the man's body laid a few feet behind. However he paused once his eyes landed on the corpse. Kou perked up at that, and followed his younger brother's line of sight to the man's bloodied head.

"...What is tha—"

"The hell..?" Yuma muttered. A soft grey gas was flowing out of the man's nostrils, emitting a foul odor as it rose up above their heads. Kou immediately started up and backed away from it, as did Yuma. "That ain't supposed to happen..." Kou was just as confused. He held up a hand to pinch his nose; the smells having become so sour that he almost wanted to vomit. Yuma's brows knitted together as they both tried to guess what was happening. Since when did visible putrid fumes flow out of corpses..?

"...Didn't.. Ruki say something about this a while ago?" Kou questioned, rubbing his nose.

"Kinda.. I think..." Yuma answered, bringing back to mind a conversation he once had with their eldest brother. "That Hunters' bodies give off anti-vampires fumes or some shit like that after they die. That?"

"Oh, yeah," Kou said dismissively, squinting his eyes. They were beginning to sting from the gas. "...But we should probably get out of here, don'tcha think?"

"Yeah.. but the bodyー"

"A familiar can... handle i..t," Kou coughed out. Before long, the fumes had caught up with both of them. Neither could stand breathing it in any longer, which sent them rushing back toward the city limit. Yuma took long strides beside the blonde, a hand shielding his mouth. It felt as though they were breathing in strong chemicals; far too strong to be any safe. So they wisped through trees and other shrubs, staggering through the groves, but once they reached the street they noticed two figures waiting for them. Both brothers came to a still.

Ruki Mukami stood with his arms crossed, face cross, leaning against the wall of the alley. At his side was the shy-faced Azusa, who refused to look at either of them. The taller one sighed and peeled away from the concrete wall.

"You left something at the plaza," Ruki said, tone always matter-of-factly. Azusa's bashful expression only worsened. He turned his body to face both middle brothers, but kept his gaze locked on the asphalt.

"I'm... sorry... I... ran away..."

True, they had forgotten about Azusa. They had meant to go back for himーbut they weren't exactly expecting to be burdened with a dead Hunter's body. Nonetheless, Kou always grew weak at the sight of sweet Azusa. He felt a twinge of guilt splinter throughout his heart, and went out of his way to bring back his beloved smile, done in a successful attempt to raise the youngest brother's spirits.

"Don't worry~!" Kou encouraged, grinning wide. "It was Yuma's fault; he got sidetracked when he smelled some human blood~ But it's okay, it was just Hoshirin!"

"Hoshi...o...san?"

"Mhm," Kou nodded. "Apparently she lost her memory, and attacked someone out of impulse..."

At that, Ruki perked up.

"Oh?" A curious expression crossed his face, the smallest of smiles gracing his lips. He adjusted his position against the wall as his eyes flitted between the two middle brothers. "That's interesting..."

Kou nodded, before a shy look of his own crossed his face. Despite not being related by blood, he looked just like the youngest Mukami for a moment. "...I hope it's not permanent, though," he admitted, in reference to Hoshio's amnesia. It was just a spur-of-the-moment confession, a bit of rare honesty. But he received quite a few different reactions from the three of his brothers. Ruki was not amused by that comment, while Yuma wore an indifferent face, and Azusa seemed empathetic.

"You're not getting attached," Ruki said. It was more of a command than a question. "Once we obtain our goal, we will cut off all connections with those people."

"I know," Kou sighed. "..She was just nice to talk to from time to time."

For from the start, their goal had always been the Sakamaki family's sacrificial bride, Yui Komori. There was no other reason for them to comply with those people. They wanted to become her Adam, to fulfill the wishes of their master Karlheinz, and that was all.

...But they all thought, though it was secret, that being on better terms with that family was nice. Out of the six brothers, each Mukami had one particular favorite whose face didn't  _entirely_  revolt them. ...No one would ever admit that, though.

Ruki shut his eyes. "Anywayーwhat were you two doing back there?"

Kou glanced back at the trees behind them. There was no reason to hide anything from Ruki; he was the wisest, after all, and would undoubtedly know how to handle anything thrown his way. Still, Kou felt a bit conscious about the recent events. A Hunter was killed by a vampire tonight. If the Hunter's associates discovered that, there would be some discord between both groups.

"You're hesitating," Ruki commented. "Is there something I should know?"

Kou felt experimental and sniffed at the air, just to see if the Hunter's fumes had made it this far.  _They_  had not, but another scent filled his senses—one that was very familiar. Any vampire would have preferred this particular fragrance over a Hunter's decay, but in this moment it did not please Kou in the slightest.

"Hold on..." he started. "...That's Hoshirin's blood."

"I asked you a question," Ruki sighed. Kou opened his mouth again, only to have the third-eldest Mukami beat him to it.

"Shio went an' killed a Hunter," Yuma quickly revealed. It was obvious, by his tone of voice, and by the way his arms were crossed over his broad chest, that he was growing annoyed with all of this. "We jus' disposed of the body."

Ruki raised a brow. "What would a Hunter be doing  _here_?"  
  
  
  


...But no one could answer that.

Ruki raised a hand to rub his temple. "Whatever. I will let the Sakamakis know. As for that woman's blood... it's none of our business. Active Hunters tend to infuse their own blood with anti-vampire venoms, some so strong that even inhaling it can be lethal to us. If that was the case with her victim, I'd assume she's trying to excise the poison..."

Kou felt his body stiffen. "Just  _breathing_ it can be fatal?" he asked, bewildered. Ruki nodded without a second thought.

"That's what I said," he responded. Yuma pursed his lips, eyebrows raising only slightly. He and Kou shared a look with each other. They both had witnessed Hoshio suck that man dry. And a mere whiff of this venom could apparently kill a vampireーas things were, their own lives could possibly come to an end sooner than they thought.

Ruki noticed the exchange between the two, and grew even more quizzical. "What's with thatーwhat happened?"

"...We breathed in some of that Hunter's fumes, too..."

Ruki took a moment to look between them, then shook his head.

"You both are fools," he sighed. "But if you aren't dead already, it must have not been too strong. You'll be fine. At most, you'll feel a bit ill for the rest of the night. And besides, Karlheinz-sama is said to be attending the soirée. If anything does end up happening, he will be here."

That came as a relief to both of them. However, Hoshio was still the one who drank the poison firsthand; the same kind of fate couldn't be said for her.

But she was none of their concern, so they didn't pay it much mind.

...At least, they didn't  _want_ to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi um so obviously i have never hidden a dead body before,
> 
> but chances are neither have you,
> 
> (hopefully),
> 
> so lets all pretend that this was a logical manner of handling that ...?
> 
> BUT ON A SIDE NOTE—
> 
> the plot is finally beginning to BLOSSOM WOOT WOOT
> 
> it only took 13 frikken chapters ;;
> 
> (author-chan initially planned on having the soirée in like chapter 4 LOL but i accidentally got a couple ideas)
> 
> except first
> 
>  we gotta go help hoho cuz shes bleeding out now thanks to evil pigeon mom ;;
> 
> poor hoho i love her to pieces she doesnt deserve reiji T^T
> 
> but i mean technically it was [CENSORED], so i cant really [CENSORED]
> 
> sorry, dang spoilers xD
> 
> whewww i am excited
> 
> it wont be long before she finds herself
> 
> and then
> 
> she cAN DONKEY KICK THEIR LIL DO-S BOOTIES
> 
> ヽ(#`Д´)ﾉ┌┛
> 
> WELLP OK SEE YOU NEXT TIME!!!
> 
> \- mito


	14. Le Plus Cruel de Tous

Reiji pulled the white glove out of his pocket, and returned it to his hand, before he slid one arm beneath Hoshio's neck. The intricate crown and braids Reika had done up so nicely remained perfectly intact, as Reiji was meticulous to keep her appearance worthy of the upcoming partyーbut her skin was dappled with bits of grime and browning blood.

Most of Hoshio's wounds were already healed, however the two gashes Reiji had inflicted were still very apparent. He did not say a word though as he slid his other arm beneath her knees, and lifted her from the alley's ground.

"Honestly..." he sighed. He ran his eyes over her hair, checking for any loose strands, and traveled his gaze down to her ballgown which stuck in awkward folds. He smoothed those out too before he turned back toward the cuts on her neck.

"A lady should not appear so indecent just before a soirée," he said, as if it was her own fault that she had those two ugly wounds peeling from her skin.

Nonetheless, he carried her back to the restaurant building. Reiji did not feel any sort of annoyance now, and continued to walk down the streets curtained in darkness. Hoshio did not move at all while unconscious. Not even her chest rose to breathe, like she would normally have it do.

When the restaurant approached, Reiji came inside without using the door. These sorts of buildings were common in a vampire's townーsome rooms were only accessible if one could teleport. The restaurant was a ruse, of course, with a ballroom hidden underground, and an array of private rooms up on the third floor. Neither the ballroom nor the upstairs could be accessed by foot. And as such, only the weakest of vampires came solely to dine.

Of course, these rooms were not so legal with the human government, but that was entirely the point. Without the aid of a vampire, or other heavy machinery, no Hunter could ever access the hidden rooms. It made them much more dangerous for those unable to teleport.

Reiji entered a room on the uppermost level, but Hoshio had already begun to stir the moment they came into the building. There were certain smellsーsomething coming from the ballroomーthat depleted her thirst all over again. She could not keep her nose off, even unconscious.

So when her eyes fluttered open once more, the first thing she noticed were those maddening smells, which she had since come to recognize as human blood. However she then became conscious of the arms beneath her. Hoshio stared up at Reiji for a few silent moments, before she remembered what he had done just moments agoーand attempted to lunge out of his grasp.

Reiji's grip remained firm.

"I would return you to Kanato," he said, and Hoshio's lips twisted down in disgust. "However, it seems that our father will be attending this soirée as well. ...So the other guests say. I was not informed of this beforehand. Due to the possibility of his being here, though, you will not be leaving my side for the remainder of this evening."

Hoshio clenched her teeth, staring hard at Reiji as she let her thoughts wander. What was this feeling? She wanted to loathe Reiji, or  _fear_  him at least—but the longer she stared at him, the more he grew on her. Somehow... she didn't want him to let her go. However she ignored her own desires, blaming it on some sort of disassociation, and thrashed about with all her might.

"Reiji-san..!" she grumbled out, kicking her legs and attempting to pull herself up by pushing down on his shoulder. Her ballgown was much too heavy; it strained her limbs more than it should have.

"Stop that," Reiji said, though he did not have much of an advantage—if he wanted to stop her, he would have to put her on her feet. So he stood still, watching his grip to ensure she couldn't thrash her way out.

"You brute!" Hoshio cried. "How  _dare_  you?! Why would you—" Fumbling over her own words, she finally came to a still, and hissed out, "I don't  _like_  you." A childish insult, she knew, but there was nothing else she could think of. She no longer felt any pain, as for the most part her wounds had all disappeared—and, truthfully, she couldn't remember his assault all that well at all. Was there even anything to be angry about? She didn't know.

"This is certainly displeasing. You've become so dramatic," Reiji noted. His voice was dry; not angry, but not pleased either.

"Oh, shut up. You would be too if you were being carried around like a baby by a strange rose-eyed man who angered you for some reason but you can't even remember what made you angry!" Hoshio snapped, and Reiji had to pause to digest everything she spat at him. She was disgustingly blunt.

"You were unconscious," he explained. Her brows furrowed.

"Because of you! You attacked me, that was it! If you don't get your disgusti—"

"Hoshio."

The use of her name promptly shut her mouth. Reiji had used a tone she'd never heard before, but it was dangerous, and she knew if she said anything to strike a nerve he might repeat what he did before. And that, as nonchalant as she was acting about it just now, truly did terrify her. She became even more aware of the fact that his hands had complete restraint of her body. She swallowed, worry pulsing through her. ...This had taken a darker turn. She should have known better.

"Do you honestly believe that you're allowed to speak with me that way, Hoshio?"

Oh, but every word that left his mouth changed her mind again! He was making her unstable. She narrowed her eyes again, and blurted her thoughts out without a moment's hesitation.

"What do you mean?! I'm allowed to speak however I want— _you're_  the one who needs to rethink his words! You act like such a gentleman but you lack common sense!"

"...Excuse me?"

Hoshio felt the ice splintering out from beneath her, but she continued with her rant regardless.

"You do  _not_  get to force me into things I refuse to do—this soirée was an exception, I know, because Reika..." Hoshio trailed off as she tried to remember how exactly Reika convinced her to attend tonight's party. However she feared if she wasted too much time thinking, Reiji would take the chance to interrupt her. So she hastily continued. "Because of Reika. And attacking me because I'm 'too human'—what does that even mean?! Aside from the bloodlust, what difference is there between us and humans?!"

She then huffed out, and shut her eyes, while Reiji remained silent. She couldn't tell what he was feeling now—if he was angry, he wasn't showing it. He looked resolute, yet unreadable, but Hoshio wasn't eager to see what he would do.

"..."

He didn't say a word still, only thinking—that Hoshio was off. Incredibly off. She was not thinking straight; she wasn't supposed to be like this. She'd forgotten that initially, Reiji was not the one who forced her into this soirée. The opposite, actually; he was strongly  _against_  it. But he didn't correct her, and instead began to move. Situated in the back corner of the room was a bathroom closed off by a large, frosted glass door. He entered, and shut said door promptly behind them both.

Reiji then sat Hoshio on the vanity top, and dampened a clean rag he found to wipe away the bits of dirt lining her face. She did not move at all, keeping her gaze firm on his own as he worked.

"Aren't you going to say anything?" she asked. He ignored her. He moved to squeeze out water from the rag, then wiped her face again, while Hoshio was internally dying over this silent treatment.

"Reiji-san, talk to me."

A few more moments of silence passed. Hoshio was impatient with it, and couldn't stand listening to just the muffled orchestra from the party below. It was driving her mad.

"I know you can hear me."

He spoke not a word. So she glared at him.

"If you won't speak with me, then I'll talk to you," she decided. "You said your father will be here. I don't know what kind of person he is, but surely he'd be disappointed if he found out what you're doing to me right now. There! Did that strike a nerve?"

Reiji didn't even bat an eye. But discussing his father made Hoshio think of her own, as everything always tended to lead back to herself lately. She momentarily forgot that Reiji was ignoring her to ponder aloud.

"Wait, if  _your_  father is here, does that mean mine will be, too? Do you know my father's name?"

Nothing.

"This one, I'd really like to know. Please," she added. "...Hey." She waved in front of his face.

Reiji moved the rag over her mouth, so that her voice became muffled, but continued on with washing her lips as if nothing was wrong. Hoshio cringed as the taste of floral soap swept across her tongue. She swatted his hand away, before glaring up at him once more.

"Is my father alive still?"

Reiji took a fresh towel from the cupboard, and cleaned off the remaining soap from her face.

"Will I get to meet your father?" Hoshio asked. She was merely blabbering away whatever came to mind in order to elicit some sort of response from him, but once she realized that meeting Reiji's father was a possibility, she perked up. Of course, she probably would  _have_  to meet him. It would wound the family's image if a son failed to greet his father at an event like this. And Hoshio, as Reiji had declared, was not allowed to leave his side.

...She was anxious about it. Surely a father would have more maturity than his son, especially one in such a noble family as this. He'd be able to knock some sense into Reiji, she imagined. Maybe he could even help her escape. But, if not, she would just go along with this soirée and make her grand departure the moment it ended.

When she noticed Reiji had stopped tending to her face, Hoshio turned to look in the mirror. There was significantly less makeup caking her features, but she didn't exactly look  _bad_. Reiji had skillfully removed just what was necessary.

But then she saw the two wounds in her neck, and how they still had not yet healed. If anything, they were progressively getting worse.

"Why aren't those healing...?" She questioned, and placed a hand over the gashes. Without answering her, Reiji moved aside her limb to lay a water-soaked rag on the wounds. He brushed the remaining blood away, and put pressure on the gashes themselves. When he finished, the marks were still obvious and vibrant, but Reiji left them as they were. Given how meticulous he was about keeping her appearance intact, she was surprised he'd just leave it like that.

"Why isn't it going away..?" Hoshio asked again. It didn't hurt her at all, truthfully—but the wound was still  _there_  and it was distracting.

But Reiji continued to ignore her and went to fold the towels, stacking them beside the sink. He then returned his gloves to his hands, which he had removed earlier in order to deal with the sink water. Hoshio blinked at his movements, before realizing he had finished what he wanted to do, and was heading back toward the door.

"You're  _leaving_?" She furrowed her brows. Being left behind in here wouldn't do her any well at all! She couldn't teleport back to the restaurant; how would she be able to escape? ...Or maybe Reiji knew that. As he passed by her, Hoshio shot her hand out to grab the back of his blazer. Still sitting on the marble ledge, she held onto him, bringing him to a halt.

"Reiji-san," she said sternly. "Tell me  _something_  at least! I need to know... Are any of my relatives here? My father? Am I really a prospective bride—for who, if I am,  _you_?"

Another moment of silence passed. Reiji gazed down at her, seeing the desperate look in her eye, and finally opened his mouth to speak.

"I suppose I've entertained you enough," he said, and Hoshio's lips parted.  _Entertained..?_  "No, you are not a prospective bride."

"No...?" Hoshio was taken aback. She couldn't draw the line between reality and falsehood anymore. "What was the point of saying that, then?!"

A gentle smile crossed the second-eldest son's lips, and he leaned down close to the amnesiac. Her cheeks tinted pink at the close proximity. Reiji was nothing short of vile; he had lied and physically abused her body, suffocating her to the point of passing outーbut Hoshio would not hate him. She even blushed at his touch, for he was gentle with her now, and the only proof of his previous attack were those two numb, jugular cuts. ...But those, as much as she minded them, did not deter her feelings in the slightest.

She just wanted answers, and that was all she felt towards him.

"I'll remind you again what it means to be a vampire," Reiji said, "especially someone of your class. You are a  _luxury_. The lower-class looks on at you and despairs. There's not a single vampire in this world who wouldn't desire your bloodーwhether to drink, or to have themselves."

"...You haven't drunk my blood though," Hoshio murmured. Her fingers rose once more to brush on her wounds. "I'm bleeding out right here and you didn't even bat an eye."

"...Are you offering yourself to me?" Reiji's smirk grew wider, and he leaned down into the crook of Hoshio's neckーthe side opposite of the gashesーand planted his lips onto her skin.

"I was just making a poiー" Hoshio began, cut off when she felt Reiji's hot breath on her skin. It sent shivers down her spine. She moved her hands to his jaw, trying to push his head away from her, to no avail. "I wasn't sayiー"

But Reiji took her hands in his, and intertwined their fingers, before leading her downward. He laid the upper half of her body across the marble counter, while one leg burrowed between her own, preventing her from slithering away.

"And for you," he continued, "whose aristocratic blood is so desired, the lower-class beasts will drive themselves mad in their attempts to take you, to take the information stored within you. Vampires, after all, are not from this human realm; compared to what you might believe, Hoshio, we manage this world in a manner unfathomable to the average human. So if I told you who you were, and the vampires here tried to take advantage of your frail conditionーtried to  _obtain_ youーwould you be able to stop them?"

Hoshio blinked. Even through her mask, many had already recognized her on sight. It was obvious she didn't need to know anything about herself for others to 'obtain' her identity. ...Er, that  _was_  what he was referring to, wasn't he?

"I don't undー" she started, only to be interrupted yet again.

"You can't even stop me," Reiji pointed out. His fangs then plunged into Hoshio's neck, sinking deep enough that her mind blacked out for one quick second. It took a moment to gather herself, to register the pain bustling up from her neck. She couldn't bring herself to scream, however, and instead groaned through pursed lips. Reiji drank generously.

He moaned against her skin, letting the bloodlust completely take over. He sucked from her without much mercy, letting her blood stain his teeth and melt across his tongue. He savored every bit of it, while Hoshio herself wasn't even sure how she felt. And then Reiji pulled away, those crimson fluids pooling between his lips. There was nothing trailing down his chin, however, and with a quick lick of his lips all signs of his last meal were gone.

Although his bite marks healed within seconds, those two gashes still remained intact. They were cleaner cuts than they were before, but still wholly obvious.

However those were since forgotten. Hoshio continued to think about the bite, and the feeling of Reiji's fangs lodged in her neck, and how...

Somehow, she... sort of missed it?


	15. Les Crocs d'un Autre

When Reiji pulled away, Hoshio laid still, and brushed her fingers up against where his fangs had touched. It was still wet from where his lips had been. She sat up slowly, quietly wondering to herself why she didn't struggle against him. And then she looked straight at Reiji, and asked him the same question she had asked when she first met Laito.

"Reiji-san, are you my lover?"

He paused at that. "Lover?" And he laughed. "Would you be disappointed if I wasn't?"

"No," Hoshio murmured quickly, cheeks tinting pink. She averted her gaze from him, and felt along her neck again. "But are you?"

"No."

"Then, what about Laito? ...Did we have anything?"

Reiji stared even harder at her. He could tell her anything he wanted to, and a half of her would believe it. Alternatively, he could continue to neglect her questions, and leave her going mad from the lack of information splayed out for her. However, he had to pick his battles, and this was a card he truly did want to play.

"You were closer with Ayato than you were with Laito or Kanato," he offered. Hoshio blinked at that. It didn't seem that way at all. If anything, Ayato was the one triplet who  _hadn't_ spoken a word to her thus far; that was curious to her.

"How long have I known your family?" she asked then.

"Who's to say?" Reiji responded, and her gaze faltered as she realized he wouldn't say anything more. She thought of him like a genie in a lampーReiji granted her certain answers every once in a while, but once she used up all her wishes he would refuse the rest of her questions. ...Except, he seemed to pick and choose which ones he wanted to grant. She didn't have a limited number of wishes; she just had to ask the ones that Reiji didn't mind explaining.

So she kept quiet after that, and slid her heels down to the bathroom tile below. As she stepped in front of him, Reiji procured her own mask from the inside of his blazer. He affixed it atop the bridge of her nose. She blinked at him, having forgotten that she'd carelessly thrown out her mask earlier.

"I found it on the street," he explained, and Hoshio's face burned in embarrassment. But she accepted it, and placed her hands on her cheeks. She looked close in the mirror, seeing how her green eyes shone so brightly framed by that dark mask. Then she looked back to Reiji. She seemed anxious about something.

He chuckled. "What's the matter?"

"Is it..." she stammered, " _accepted_ , to drink from any human you want, whenever you want?"

"Of course not," Reiji jeered. "That sort of world would be tyrannic." Hoshio felt her face pale. There would be repercussions after all! In that case, Yuma and Kou probably took the body to the police, and ratted her out, and they'd all be coming to arrest her at any moment now. She held her breath.

"Yuma-san and Kou-san...  _are_  trustworthy, aren't they?"

"Who's to say?" Reiji repeated, a subtle smirk tugging at his lips. Hoshio was terrified. She could see it so clearly in her head—an array of vampire officers barging into the ballroom, interrupting everyone's dancing, and taking her away forever. She'd be imprisoned for something she did on impulse, all because she hadn't accepted that she was a vampire and ran away and let her bloodlust drive her mad.

"No, no, no," she murmured. "We can't go to the party then.. Stay here," she coerced, and swept in front of Reiji so that he could not exit the bathroom. He burrowed his arms.

"Hos—"

But they were abruptly interrupted by a knock on the door. It sounded from right behind the already-fidgety Hoshio, which did nothing but spook her. She tried jumping out of the way in her fright, but managed to instead jam her hipbone against the corner of the counter. A worse pain rippled throughout her entire body, and she froze up again.

Reiji moved to unlock the door. When whoever was on the other side stepped in, the amnesiac was clenching the marble ledge, back turned to the both of them. Her eyes were furiously screwed shut, a quiet attempt to rid herself of the aching sensations riding up her hip.

"So you two were in here, huh~?" The newcomer called. "I was a bit worried, actually~ I smelled Hoshi-chan's blood and wasn't sure what was happening, haha."

Hoshio didn't even have to turn around to know who was standing there. Somehow, the sound of Laito Sakamaki's voice was a hundred times worse than her hip pain. So she, feeling her irritation rise up quicker than ever, was even able to neglect her throbs and whip herself around. She glared the smirking Laito down.

"As you can see, she is fine," Reiji answered for her. Hoshio pursed her lips.

"I was until  _you_ appeared," she said to Laito. She then peeled herself away from the counter, and pointed back to the door. "You can leave now. You sicken me—!"

"Ouch," Laito chuckled, smiling wide. He swung an arm around Hoshio's shoulders. "You really think so~? Well, that's fine because Iー" However he cut himself off upon spotting the gashes etched into her neck. A flash of surprise crossed Laito's eyes at that, and the entirety of his voice drained out.

He still held Hoshio tightly against him, but he turned to face Reiji after, that curious expression still prevalent on his face. His hand fell down to Hoshio's lower back as he shifted his position. And she, though uncomfortably aware of how far down his hand was, did not have a chance to protestーas he asked a rather piquing question.

"Did you guys run into a Hunter?"

"...A Hunter?" Hoshio echoed. Reiji nodded.

"While trying to flee this soirée, yes, she encountered a Hunter," he nodded, "and killed him on sight." Laito's face lit up when he heard that, and he smiled down at Hoshio, who looked rather horrified by how matter-of-factly Reiji's tone had been.

"I hadn't  _meant_ to," she tried to argue. "But he was... a Hunter? That couldn't be for... vampires, right?"

"Why else would those two gashes remain there?" Reiji retorted. The muscles in Hoshio's jaw tensed up. The panic surged through her even harder than it had before. A Hunter! They'd come back for her, for sure now! Why did she have to attack a Hunter of all people? While Laito chuckled, admiring Hoshio's stricken face, she was murmuring a quiet, "Help me, God," to herself. Reiji's own teeth clenched at that.

That one phrase she had spokenーthat was all it took to shatter his patience. This vampire amnesiac, whose memories were few, spat out pleas for a human's 'God' to rescue her so naturally that it disgusted him. It was  _wrong_. Horribly wrong. Where had it gone wrong? When she lost her memory, Reiji thought it was the perfect opportunity to shape Hoshio into a proper ladyーbut here she was, with barely any guidance from those around her, speaking just as a human would. It was repulsive. He expected an instinct-driven beast, something he could whip and tame. Not a  _human_ with the fangs of another.

Still, he chose to suppress any comments, and instead watched her expressions. Laito cheerfully pet the top of the woman's head, complimenting how cute she looked when she was so afraid like that. Though she was on the verge of crying again, Hoshio held her composure in order to hiss out at him.

"I loathe men like you," she snapped. "I'd actually be more than happy to be taken away if it means I never have to see your eyesore of a face again!" But Laito only laughed, and pulled her body closer to his.

"In that case," he smiled, "should I appease you and turn you in myself?" Hoshio's chest sunk at that. She pushed at him and swung her arms out from under his hold, trying her hardest to break free from him. She was frantic with every move she made, and sputtered out rather threatening insults in an attempt to catch him off-guard. Laito expressed nothing but amusement for her indignant protests. That being said, though, Reiji soon began to sense the strain in his younger brother's laughter. For someone as domineering as Laito, Reiji knew it wouldn't be long before his patient façade would wither. So he stepped up.

"Restrain yourselves," he said. "We are very short on time." True, Reiji had spent this long complaining about being late without doing a thing about it. Hoshio was, evidently, someone he was willing to sacrifice time for. However when Laito was this close to snapping, he deemed it appropriate to finally intervene.

And Hoshio swiped her hand right out of Laito's hold once she heard that. He stared on at her with a glint in his eyeーsomething unreadableーthough he did nothing more, and instead watched as Reiji silently exited the bathroom. Laito turned back to Hoshio. She met his gaze with a fervent anger in her own, and while that sort of expression really did nothing but arouse him, she slipped away before he could say anything more. She scurried after Reiji, and shut the door behind her so that Laito was kept inside.

When Hoshio reached the second-eldest brother, she lowered her head to speak with him.

"...Don't leave me," she murmured. "Please." She then cupped her neck. "Can we cover these up, too?" It was easy to assume that the scent from gashes were what inspired Laito to come visit them. "...And also, weren't you the one who inflicted these? Not the Hunter." Her voice had quieted at that, as to not sound accusatory; she didn't want to anger Reiji.

As before, however, he did not answer, and Laito came out of the bathroom. Hoshio was filled with a strong urge to rush away when she saw him. The red-haired vampire was emitting an aura more dangerous than she had ever felt before. Still, she tried to ignore him, and although her breath was beginning to catch again, she continued to speak with Reiji. "They're not healing because of something you did, right?"

These were distractions, distractions. She inched closer toward Reiji with every word she spoke, and talked away whatever crossed her mind to distract herself from Laito. She wasn't sure what was happening to her, truthfully. Laito's presence alone drove her anxious beyond belief. This was utter fear, she realized, and she kept her vision far from those unreadable eyes of his.

...Although, he was the one who piped up to answer her questions, not Reiji.

"It's eating up all the poison," Laito explained, voice dry, as he came up from behind her. "I once used the same technique on Ayato when he accidentally drank some, too. Weaker Hunters sometimes infuse their blood with poison as a defense mechanism."

"...Poison?" Hoshio froze in place. Maybe that was a relief. The poison would kill her before anyone had a chance to catch her for that murderーbefore Laito could do anything more to her. However she still felt uneasy, and that fact only worsened her already alarming fright. "I'm going to die?"

"No, that's why he cut you," Laito said, and was annoyed that he had to repeat himself. "To rid you of the poison."

Hoshio blinked, then turned back to Reiji. He was silent still, and she was filled with a certain sense of warmth as she realized this was done to  _save_  her. He was a bit rough, of course, but she could forgive that—and was actually rather endeared. She opened her mouth to thank him, but as soon as she did she remembered that Reiji had drunk her blood, too.

"Waitーwhat about you?" she queried, a bit of of a quiver in her tone. "You drank some too, Reiji-san..."

He simpered at that. "I'm quite immune to silly human poisons like those."

When Reiji called them 'silly,' Hoshio felt embarrassed that  _she_ was not immune to them, too. Maybe it was common knowledge to build up resistance to those Hunter strengths. She shamed her pre-amnesiac self for not doing as he did. Still, she bowed her head.

"...Thank you," she murmured. Offering gratitude to Reiji felt tasteless on her tongue, however grateful she actually was. Laito's smile returned to his face, and he leered down toward Hoshio.

"Did the Hunter taste weird?" he asked earnestly. "He was all poison, after all."

"....." Hoshio didn't know what to say. It was delicious, truly. She loved every sip of it. It didn't taste funny at all; but, then again, it was the first taste of human blood she had since she woke up this evening. So, though she felt a bit conscious about it, she shook her head. "...No, it tasted fine. He wasn't very strong, either. But he was afraid," she explained, "and the harder his heart beat, the better his blood tasted..."

She spoke before she could even think of what she was saying. But upon hearing her response, Laito laughed and laughed, and then pulled Hoshio's body into his. He embraced her tightly, guiding her mouth to his neck. He then brushed aside his hair, offering his own neck to her.

"Try mine; you'll taste the difference."

Hoshio was surprised. This was a chance, she thought. She did want to bite into him as hard as she could and suck out his blood as mercilessly as she could, in order to see Laito  _writhe_ beneath herーjust as she had felt when he came onto her—but she was not barbaric, and looked to Reiji for an opinion.

"It's time to go," the second-eldest insisted. He then stepped forward, and took Hoshio's wrist. Once he pulled her away from the youngest of the triplets, they, quite literally, disappeared. Hoshio hadn't even blinked before she was standing in the lobby of the restaurant building, and she looked around anxiously, unsure how they got there. But she noticed that there were considerably more people there than they were before, and they were all dressed like she and the Sakamaki family were. Black and crimson, lace and velvet.

"How did wー"

"The guests from the human world are arriving," Reiji answered, though that was not at all what Hoshio was going to ask. Still, she took in his words.  _Were we not in the human world?_  she thought, confused.

"What? So we weren't  _really_  late, then," she noted. Reiji didn't reply, instead tugging her toward the side. The curtained door stood there, the one that the waitress Chie had pointed out to Hoshio when she first arrived.

However, inside this room, there was nothing but blackness. A bit of silence followed the two of them. Normally darkness didn't have much of an effect on Hoshio's vision, but this was completely blacked out. She couldn't even see Reiji. And although he still held onto her wrist, she gripped his arm with her other hand, just to reassure herself that he was still there.

She noticed they were not walking anymore, just standing in the darkness. It was a bit eerie. She had no clue what was going to happen. As far as she could tell, this was just an empty room, and nothing was happening. ...Unless something was wrong? She felt anxious.

But then a dim light began to brighten the room, and the muffled orchestra grew louder and louder. And suddenly they were standing at the entrance of the ballroom.


	16. La Parade des Poupées Cassées, pt.I

Hoshio sucked her breath in surprise, noting the difference between their teleporting to the lobby and their teleporting from this black box. Before, it had just happened—one second they were upstairs, the next second they weren't. This time it was like unveiling an imaginary cage the two of them were trapped in. The ballroom had just melded into the darkness, and the music had crisped itself to her ears.

Hoshio curiously looked around. Dozens of dancers were all lined up, swaying to and fro in pairs. Everyone was off-unison, however, and for Hoshio it was incredibly uncomfortable to watch them all as a whole. But if she focused on just one pair at a time, their performances were mesmerizing. They were swift and graceful, and very talented at their waltz.

The guests were donned from head to toe in layers upon layers of lavish clothing. Faux flowers and feathers rode up the women's extravagant fascinators, while the menーwith the exception of few, such as the Sakamaki familyーhad wide vests lined with ruffles and swirling patterns. Most everyone wore full-faced golden masks as well. To be truthful, though, they all looked just like the nightmare monsters that haunt children at night.

And Hoshio could not see a single eye in the flurry of darkness. The masks were vibrant, but their eyes were black and soulless, and it truly was unnerving. She peered up at Reiji, as she was close at his side, and was comforted to see that his bright eyes were still shining rose-pink through all this blackness.

"Reiji-san," she murmured uncertainly. Those who were not preoccupied dancing had all turned their gaze to the newcomers, and it made Hoshio feel even more uncomfortable. "We're not dressed like they are."

But he only chuckled, and agreed with her, and continued to navigate his way through the ballroom. She met the gaze of nearly everyone she passed by, though their stares were scrutinizing, and it worried her. This place was giving off vibes she did not like at all. This was a dangerous room, a dangerous atmosphere. It sent alarms blaring in her head.

But she followed close behind Reiji, trusting him more than anyone else in this twisted fantasyland. She wondered if he was taking her to his father, and if his father was just as horrifyingly whimsical as the rest of this ensemble. That drastically brought down her hopes for him. These people looked like beasts barely clinging onto their sanity. There was some kind of alluring smell in this room, the smell of sweet human blood, but not even Hoshio could tell where it was coming fromーand she knew everyone was bothered by it. It was tempting them all.

Her gait began to falter.

"Um..." she started, cautiously stepping by a set of dancers, "so these people... are not from the human world?" From what she could conclude, the human world-inhabitants wore black and red, while the guests presumably from... the demon realm, maybe? were dolled up beyond Hoshio's imagination. With that, Hoshio was relieved to be wearing what she was. It meant that she was from the human world like she thought. Reiji hummed in confirmation, and they continued wisping through the crowds. Hoshio furrowed her brows, wishing he'd elaborate, but didn't say anything. They wove through a certain collection of dancers, and as they passed a woman excused herself.

She stepped away from the crowd, and approached the pair from the front.

"My, is that Reiji?" Her smooth, coquettish voice rang out against the whispers and cello strings. She wore the same outfit as them—black and crimson, black and crimson. The woman was certainly not as extravagant as the rest of the dancers, but she had jewelry strewn throughout about nearly every part of her body. She was rather confident, judging by the way she walked, but the sight of her  _body!_  Hoshio wanted to shriek.

The woman was ghastly, quite literally rotting away, with sharp hips that jutted out in a manner that hadto be a trick of the lightーthough, there was hardly any—and she had eyes that were practically bulging out of their sockets. Her waist was incredibly small, far too small for someone whose breasts and hips were as glaring as hers. She looked quite like a grotesque skeleton whose waist was carved right out of her, sharp at every corner.

Hoshio shamed herself for thinking so, but this woman terrified her. She was yet another walking nightmare in this sea of madness. And said woman smiled wide, before she grabbed Reiji, bringing her own hand up for him to kiss. He did, albeit hesitantly. That left Hoshio to only watch. She was unsure how to react in such a situation. Instead of making herself known, she turned her head aside, as a thick scent of anise and smoke wafted from the woman's body.

"My, my, Reiji, you've grown some since I last saw you! You were such a quiet boy back thenーalways reading, always at your mother's side. Oh, I heard about the Hunter." Hoshio froze up at that. She assumed they were talking about  _her_ , of course, and was not at all comforted by how fast this information could spread. However the woman continued: "Sweet Beatrix... she would have been thrilled to see how mature  _my_  son has gotten. You remember my son, don't you?"

The woman motioned to a young man standing behind her, and brought him forward. He was just as warped, with hips and eyes as horrendous as his mother's. She went on and on about how perfect and wonderful he was, and how much he looked up to Reiji, who apparently inspired him to become the 'well-educated vampire he was now.' Her son was blushing mad with a wild, satisfied smile, basking in his mother's praise.

It was only after she had gone on a while boasting about her son that the woman noticed Hoshio. A gasp escaped her creased lips. "Oh, my sweet Hoshio!" she cried, and ran her spindly fingers across Hoshio's shoulder as they embraced. The younger girl stood awkwardly in her tight hold. "I smelled your blood earlier, and I was a bit concerned. But from the looks of things, nothing bad has happened. Ah, well, that's to be expected from..." She trailed off, and stared at the amnesiac for a few questionable moments. Then she smiled and said, "Oh, that's interesting..."

Her fingers moved up to Hoshio's neck, to the two gashes that were failing to heal, and her coy smile deepened. "My, you truly are tempting me. How audacious of you not to cover that up." Hoshio felt her heart sink, but she couldn't bring herself to move. Fortunately however the woman did nothing more, and instead fluttered away to grab her son's arm.

"Well, you remember my strong boy, don't you? He's grown up quite a bit. I'm sure you'll find him much more useful than he was three decades ago. Oh, goodness, has it really been that long?" The woman tapped her chin, deep in thought. "Yes, since I've seen you, Hoshio. It's been nearly thrice as long since I've seen Beatrix's children, though! Oh, Reiji, is Shu here? He's such a dear; I'd really love to catch a few words with him. And what about the others... Cordelia's sons? And Christa's dear boy? Oh, I've heard about the deaths of those two as well. Truly, it's such a shame you all lost your mothers in just the last century! It's all so sudden! I don't know what my dear boy would do without me!"

Hoshio would think that Reiji would snap, or give a courteous "That's enough," at the least, but he was holding up rather impressively. That was surprising, considering how insensitive this woman seemed to be. Hoshio couldn't tell exactly how close she was to Reiji, nor was she aware of the dynamics within the Sakamaki family, but she thought it cruel for this woman to be saying these things so nonchalantly. She spoke of these deaths as if they meant nothing! Still, thoughーit gave Hoshio quite a bit of new information, such as the name of Reiji's mother. And to be truthful... the name 'Beatrix' was actually very familiar.

"...'Beatrix'...?" Hoshio murmured to herself. Reiji silently took her hand in his, and pulled her behind him. A curt smirk crossed the ghastly woman's lips as she spotted their subtle interaction, but her attention was quickly stolen when her son piped up.

"Oh, Mother," he rolled his wide red eyes, "I would do perfectly well without you."

"My darling, you came crying back to me just last night after that human girl you've foolishly been pursuing told you she hated you!" she laughed mirthfully. Her son had become the brightest shade of white in embarrassment. "But don't worry, I will arrange things with Hoshio's father, and you two will make wonderful heirs for me. That silly human girl could never compare! Oh, just  _imagine_  your children!" She then went on to ramble about how her grandchildren would look more like Hoshio, but they'd inherit her son's strength, and be 'loyal dogs to her and the elders.' At that, her son quickly recovered from his chagrin, and smiled proudly at the idea of mating with Hoshio.

The latter of whom was, naturally, very alarmed.

"...Pardon?" she choked out. She looked up at Reiji, whose eyes were shut, quietly listening to their conversation. The woman smiled sweetly at her, eyes darting between her and her own son.

"Yes, I heard your father will be here tonight! He's such a mysterious man; I'm honored to finally have the chance to speak with him! Oh, but I suppose I should snag him before the other nobles offer up their own sons to marry you. Ahh, if only I had a daughter or two, then I could marry her off to Beatrix's sons, too... Well, it's never too late!" And she laughed and swept off, but not before winking at them both, and went searching for the amnesiac's father. Her son followed close behind.

In the moments that followed, there was an uncanny silence between both Reiji and Hoshio.

"...My.. father's here..?" she whispered. Reiji folded his arms over his chest.

"You will not be marrying that woman's son," he told her, "regardless of whether she offers him up to your father or not."

Hoshio examined his appearance, how resolute he looked about preventing her from marrying that boy, and felt indignant all over again. True, she was sweet on Reiji, but whenever he acted possessive like that, she felt exasperated. She wanted to belittle him just as he had done to her. So she thought of an impact she could land, and only hoped it would work.

"Well, I think he seems respectable," she commented, feigning an impressed smile. "I'd prefer him to you, at least."

Reiji fell silent. Hoshio stared straight at him, watching for any emotion to shine through. She wondered what came over her. Reiji was her one solace in this sea of lunaticsーwhy did she continue to try to anger him? She wanted respect. But specifically, she wanted  _Reiji_ to give that to her. So she fought him, hoping that if he truly was so possessive of her, he'd learn not to hide away her answers, what was rightfully hers. ...Otherwise she'd leave him.

 _So there!_  She thought arrogantly, satisfied that Reiji could not respond.

However his hand tightened around hers, and he pulled her into his chest. Fortunately, though, the other dancers were inspired to come and speak with them both, just as that woman and her son had done. So they swept by in their enchanting ensembles and Hoshio found the strength to wriggle free from him, separated by the billowing masquerade. Rather than feeling lost, Hoshio felt a surge of confidence erupt through her, and she decided: she would find her father, and explain everything to him.

So she wouldn't be completely alone after all! Reiji was not her only option; her  _father_ was here. He would, undoubtedly, spare the time to answer to his daughter. And everything would come to light. As she pursued after the spindly woman and her son, Hoshio rehearsed everything she would ask in her head:

_Who am I?_

_What happened to my memory?_

_Who turned me into a vampire?_

_Where is my mother? And my sister?_

_And... just what was I doing at the Sakamaki mansion?_


	17. Jeu de Poursuivant

She lasted two minutes.

Hoshio's sudden burst of confidence was powerful, but short-lived, as the moment she stepped away from Reiji, swarms of dancers came to greet her. By now it was very obvious that she had to be  _someone_ importantーbut that was not exactly something she was thankful for.

_"Hoshio-sama!"_ They cried.  _"Let me kiss your hand, Hoshio-sama!"_

_"...I accepted tonight's invite solely because I was told you'd be attending as well!"_

She clenched the muscles in her jaw, a bit alarmed by that fact. She could not understand who she was before. Why were they all so ecstatic to see her? However she turned to the person who claimed to have only come because she did, and then glanced downward.

"...Thanks," she said, her tone awkward and forced. The dancer chuckled at her single-word response, while she blinked before scurrying away. At this point, she had lost sight of the ghastly womanーand had no idea where to go.

_...Maybe I should return to Reiji-san after all_ , she decided. But he was nowhere in sight either. She looked for his eyes, as those were what shone the brightest, but could see nothing at all. Hoshio glanced around uncertainly. ... _This was a mistake_. She walked back to where he was standing before (or rather, as far as she could guess; the ongoing shift of dancers altered her perception of this room). He was not there either.

The orchestral music pounded in her ears, and she felt dizzy by all the swaying bodies moving all around her. She thought she was nearly about to faint, given how anxious she felt, but fortunately did not even stagger. However Hoshio did become especially aware of the other guests' eyes, and how they seemed almost predatory as they stared at the two gashes on her neck. She quickly moved a hand up to cover them.

If Reiji had been speaking the truth, then that meant they must want her bloodーwhich did not make her feel any less nervous at all. The twirls and swirls of cold, undead bodies were making her head spin. She briskly moved toward the back of the room, where there were less dancers, and wondered why she hadn't thought of heading to the back earlier.

...Except, then she noticed something. In searching for Reiji amongst the rows of dancers, Hoshio realized another masked fellow was pursuing her. He was much taller than average, and muscular, but still managed to look lithe and athletic. His hair was a dirty blonde and tied up in a ponytail, which vaguely looked familiarーbut she couldn't remember him.

Hoshio tried her hardest to ignore him, but her heart was pounding in fear as he drew closer with every step. And eventually, she had completely forgotten about Reiji and was focused solely on attempting to confuse her pursuer. So she turned back toward the center, and weaved through the dancers' arena, spinning along with the noblemen and women.

...Which was, also, a mistake on her behalf.

Occasionally an aristocrat would take her by the arm, and she'd have to waste a moment to skip, turn, stepーbut naturally, Hoshio was not very well-versed in dancing. She stumbled over her feet with each move her partner would make, only managing to keep her balance by the hold they had on her waist.

The orchestra's sound never sounded more menacing as she switched between dance partners; she warred between not wanting to mess up to pace of the waltz and trying to get as far away as possible from her pursuer. Eventually she lost sight of him, and felt a bit of relief, only until she was pulled away by yet another dance partner and found herself staring at that very man's chest.

"...Ah.." she sputtered out, slowly turning her head up to face him. Oh, he was familiar. She remembered him now. "...Yuma-san..?" Then the relief came back, as she noted that he was, to her knowledge, someone safe. "...Hello again."

The man in front of her rubbed the back of his neck, looking rather frustrated. "Damn, you were runnin' so fast," he complained. "I can't really jump around with all these dancin' creepsーthe hell were ye so afraid of?" But to avoid being slammed sideways by the enchanted, swaying bodies, Yuma pulled Hoshio away from the crowds, and they spoke near the wall.

She furrowed her brows at him. "...Of course I'd run; you looked like a starved buffalo! Why were you chasing me in the first place?" The moment she asked him that, her mind went on to remember Reiji, and she quickly asked another question before he could respond. "Anyway, have you seen Reiji-san?"

"Hah? Him and the rest of those purebloods were picked up by Karlheinz-sama."

Hoshio paused. "Karl... heinz?" She had a thought. "Is that their father?"

With that, Yuma stilled, his eyes glazing over Hoshio's uncertain expression, before he nodded. "They didn't want any of the other guests listenin' in on 'em, so they're speakin' in private somewhere."

Hoshio nearly guffawed at that. Here Reiji had made such a huge deal out of ensuring that she did not leave his side, and  _he_ was the one who just up and left her! Though, she was incredibly grateful to have run into Yuma. She wasn't sure what she would have done merely wandering around in a hopeless search for the second Sakamaki.

So Hoshio murmured out a simple, "Oh..." She was comfortable with Yuma, and not wholly distraught. Still, she realized that probably meant she was not allowed to listen to Reiji's father's conversation, either. "Well, then, Yuma-san... Have you seen  _my_ father? Someone told me he'd be here."

Yuma snorted. "They really didn't tell ya anything, huh?" He asked, chuckling to himself. Hoshio sensed the slight pity and condescension he had used in his tone, and felt rather victimized. Quickly, she turned her nose up and spat out an excuse.

"Well, it's not like I  _asked_ for any informationーI just went along with it all." But that only caused Yuma to chuckle again, louder this time, and he was even more encouraged to mess around with her. 

"How much do ya know, then?" While Yuma's intentions might have been purely out of amusementーcurious to see just how low someone like Hoshio could have fallenーthe amnesiac herself spotted the chance to gain answers. She eagerly jumped to tell him all she knew.

"My name is Hoshio, I'm a vampire aristocrat, and I have a maid named Reika."

_There! Who needs a Reiji-san?_  She was thrilled. Yuma would help, because not everyone in this world was selfishly trying to hold back her entire life from her.

...Or so, she thought.

Yuma grinned mischievously. "That all?" he questioned. Hoshio nodded, a strong determination in her eyes. She peered into his own irises, at the upper half of his face which was also concealed by a mask. Though she was hardly as tall as his shoulder, she glared him down regardless.

"So is he here or not?"

Yuma shrugged, a small smirk gracing his large features. "Well, if those Sakamakis haven't told you themselves yet, I'd say I probably shouldn't tell ya either." Hoshio's brows knitted together even further, and she crossed her arms.

"Like I said, I never asked," she insisted. She then closed her eyes, taking a moment to swallow her pride. "Please? Tell me his name, at least!"

Yuma's amused expression never once faltered. "What's in it for me?"

Hoshio was seething. "One simple name, Yuma-san, that's all I'm asking for. You can't spare the breath just for that?" Her eyes fell, looking rather hopeless, which Yuma fed off of very eagerly. He pulled her body closer to his, grinning as he held her wrist in one hand.

"And I think ya should compensate for that, yeah?" He then leaned down to her shoulder, and kissed along her collarbone. "To make things easier, let me just say I'm feelin' pretty damn hungry tonight..."

Hoshio slivered downward, out of his mouth's reach, though his hand still remained clamped around her wrist. She kept herself collected, however, acting as if she wasn't bothered by his hold on her.

"There's a restaurant here if you're hungry," she told him. Whether she had actually understood his innuendo or not was left up to interpretation, but she was focused more on freeing her hand. She didn't move at all, trying to keep herself as unsuspicious as possible. Instead, she ensured to maintain eye contact with Yuma. He was a bit disparaged by her comment.

"You can't be that fuckin' stupid," he snarled.

"And  _you_ can't be stupid enough to drink my blood right here with everyone watching! They're already going mad thanks to this addictive smell..." She sniffed at the air, at that alluring scent that had been tainting the whole room throughout the entirety of this soirée. It was driving her mad, too, but whatever it was was nowhere in sight. And Yuma did nothing but scowl at her.

"I ain't after yer blood, Shio," he hissed. His infamous smirk, however, quickly replaced his frustrated expression. "But that doesn't sound half-bad now..."

Hoshio writhed. " _Stop_ that! I want a name, that's all! Why must you be so presumptuous?!"

Yuma chuckled, running a hand through his hair, before he looked down at Hoshio again. He thought it ironic that Hoshio of all people would forget a detail as obvious as thatーvampires like them, after all, thrived on the agony of others. But as amusing as he found it, speaking with her in her current state was strange to him. Yuma had shared only few words with her before her amnesia, so it wasn't as if they were close, but this still felt unnatural. It didn't take more than a few words to know the type of air she used to give offーand that was an awfully drastic contrast from how Hoshio acted now.

But Yuma would not cave in.

"If you haven't figured this out already," he laughed, "no one here is gonna help you. Might as well give up on itーyou're here now, and that's all you are, yeah? So shut up and let me do as I want." He pressed his lips against her neck again, and though he did not bite her, he sucked on the skin thereーleaving Hoshio to grab at his hair, most certainly not enjoying the feeling.

...Nor the publicity! The entire ballroom could easily see the both of them, and frankly Hoshio was embarrassed to be seen with Yuma like this. So it was at this moment that she decided to physically oppose him, and thrashed her hands at his chest. She managed to yank her wrist free, and then slammed his body away from her. She sprung backward herself, and accidentally bumped into a nearby dancerーa young, fierce-looking girl, who spun around to disparage whoever had run into her.

"Excuse yoー" she started to hiss. Upon recognizing Hoshio, however, she paused. "Ah! Is that you, Hana-chan?"

Hoshio blinked, raising her hand a little in defense. "Oh, um, noー" 

"Yes, you are! You can't fool me even through that mask! Honestly, I'm offendedーwhy didn't you come looking for me~? Oh, hey, Yuma-kun~!"

The girl was dressed like the both of themーblack and crimson, black and crimson, and looked friendly enough; albeit rather stern. She had the whitest skin Hoshio had seen thus far, though that might've just been due to the contrast of her jet-black hair and equally onyx irises.

"What were the two of you doing~?" The girl sent a suggestive smirk toward Hoshio, who faltered. This girl seemed friendly enoughーbut given how lecherous Yuma turned out, Hoshio refrained from taking any chances. The girl continued. "Naughty, naughty Hana-chan~! You've got a boyfriend already!"

"...I do?" Hoshio murmured, before remembering that this girl had mistaken her for someone named Hana, so it probably wasn't her.

"What do you mean, 'I do?' You idiot, he's all you ever talk about!" The girl then leaned in close to Hoshio's ear. Her voice dropped low. "Seriously though, what were you doing with Yuma-kun...?"

Hoshio froze. "...We were just looking for, um, Hoshio-san's father," she said, deciding to just roll with pretending to be whoever Hana was. For now, at least. Meanwhile, the girl in front of her looked amazed.

"Wow, Hoshio-sama is actually here?! I'd love to see her again! Man, I only caught glimpses of her a few galas back... but she always disappeared before I had the chance to speak to her. Where is she, anyway?" The girl looked around, the excitement creeping into her expression, while Hoshio blinked. Naturally, she was very confused. She looked back to Yuma, as a final request for an explanation, but he only grabbed her wrist again.

"Hanako and I gotta go," he said to the girl, and pulled Hoshio away. Said girl looked a bit distraught.

"Aw, really? Okay! See you later then, Hana-chan!"

As Yuma led Hoshio away from that girl, the amnesiac was pondering her own thoughts. She couldn't understand a thing. One moment she was a prospective bride, the next she wasn't. One moment she was Hoshio, the next she wasn't.

...Who  _was_ Hoshio? Or if she was, then who was Hanako...?

"You wanna know the name of yer dad, right?" Yuma asked, as they left for the far side of the ballroom. Hoshio snapped out of her thoughts and scowled up at him, the purest look of disgust crossing her face. (Fortunately, Yuma was not looking at her.) Her father's name was exactly what she had been fighting for this entire timeー _obviously_  it was what she wanted. But she didn't let this exasperate her tone of voice.

"Yes," she said.

A pause came to fill the space after that. Yuma's hand tightened around Hoshio's wrist, and he continued to walk, while Hoshio thought to herself. Regardless of what name he would mention, the chances of it actually being  _her_ father were slighted. It could be Hanako's, and it could be Hoshio's. She didn't know who Yuma thought she was now. But she waited eagerly nonetheless, dripping with anticipation as the male in front of her revealed one father's name. This was one clue, and that was all that mattered.

 

"...Karlheinz."

 


	18. Quelqu'un que J'ai Connu

"...Huh?" Hoshio blinked, before repeating the name Yuma had just told her. "Karlheinz..." And her brows knitted together again. "Wait, that's the Sakamaki's father!"

Yuma only nodded, while Hoshio rested a hand on her cheek. Her eyes narrowed. "You're still being cruel, Yuma-sanーI asked for  _my_ father."

"Yeah, I know." When Hoshio remained disbelieving, Yuma scowled.  "I ain't lying to ya."

"...Yes, you are. That can't be right!" She hissed at him. "I couldn't have been a vampire my  _whole_ lifeーand I look nothing like them! Besides, vampires, they... they go against my..." But whatever else she was going to say was quickly sapped away, as a look of horror settled on her face. "And  _Laito!!_ " she screeched. "Laito is not so demented that he would do that to his own sister! Fine, Yuma-san, if you're of no help, I won't speak to you." To land her impact even harder, Hoshio then spat out a curt, "Goodbye," and spun around.

Unfortunately, she had forgotten that Yuma still held onto her wrist. He had no plans to release her anytime soon, and so when she turned away, she was caught and trapped by her own arm. That forced her to come to a still, though she remained facing away from him. Yuma rolled his eyes. He moved his arm to grab her chin, and pulled her head back toward him. His mouth opened to spit out something more, but once he met with her eyes again he found that his voice had faded out. For now, her whites were rimmed bright red, and Hoshio looked rather downcast.

"Whaー" he started, "the fuck, why're you cryin' all of a sudden?"

"I'm not," she snapped back. Her tears were hot as they streamed down her cheeks, filing out from beneath her lace mask. She turned her head to the side again, her bottom lip quivering. She was trying her hardest to stifle her sobs. Hoshio was devastatedーshe couldn't believe everyone here really did seem to be keeping everything from her! She felt like they were all taking advantage of her; she couldn't stand feeling so powerless, so hopeless.

...Or maybe her tears were because she had stumbled upon a truth? Either way, this was not a very pleasant revelation. She thought back to Reijiー her brother! She was disgusted.

"I told ya the truth," Yuma insisted. "So stop yer sobbing already."

No, it couldn't be the truth. Because Hoshio could remember that flashbackーof her mother and her sister, and they both were human, since she believed that they were. There were a myriad of things she didn't know about herself, but an intuition as strong as this could not be false: she was born to two human parents, and was raised as a human herself.

"You  _are_ lying," Hoshio retorted. "Because you called me Hanako when that's not my real nameーand anyway, I can't be related to creatures like them! My mother was human tooーand so was my sister."

It made sense to her now. Earlier, when Yuma asked how much Hoshio knew about herself, she hadn't mentioned her mother or sister. Because of that, he took the chance to spin a tale about her family. ...At least, that's what she convinced herself. Yuma crinkled his nose.

"I don't know nothing 'bout your mom, but you definitely don't have a sister."

Hoshio was infuriated now. "Yes, I do," she insisted. "You don't know what you're talking about. She's very beautiful, and she has my eyesーI can't mistake those when all I need to do is look into a mirror and they'll be there!"

Yuma stared intently at Hoshio's resolute emerald eyes, before he rolled his own again. He then took Hoshio's other wrist, and with ease, he suddenly plucked her from the tile flooring. Murmurs broke out throughout the entire ballroom as the amnesiac froze, her vision suddenly warped upside down. Yuma had flung her over his shoulder.

"Yumaー"

"This attitude is pissin' me off," he scowled. "I told ya what ya wanted to hear; you can't fuckin' tell me I'm wrong."

"But you are," Hoshio snapped back. She most certainly did not have the upper hand hereーthe most she could do would probably be to punch him in the back or somethingーbut her own emotions were still as riled as Yuma's, and she couldn't resist her response. However that enraged Yuma even further, and within an instant they both vanished from the ballroom.

The partygoers continued on with their waltz as if nothing had happenedーwhich really, nothing did. At least, nothing that concerned them. Although, the remaining three Mukami brothers were a bit surprised. They hadn't expected their tallest sibling to let his rashness get the better of him like that. So Ruki burrowed his arms.

"They're upstairs," he said. That comment served doubly as an order, commanding Kou and Azusa to follow the pair. And they obliged their eldest brother without a second thought. The final three Mukami brothers wisped away from the room in the blink of an eye, and the dancing dolls piled in the space left in their wake.

＊＊＊

Meanwhile, the ghastly woman was around, still speaking with her son. They were situated at a long table filled with wines and hors d'oeuvres to taste. The woman picked up a small powdered cake, the size of a baby's palm, which was square and ample and scented of lemon. She took a bite into the sweet dessert, but found an even sweeter filling inside. However she quickly moved to grab a napkin, for that 'filling' was human blood, and it was trailing down her chin like a broken yolk.

"Mother," her son started, "regarding the arraー"

"This blood is very sweet," his mother interrupted. She then looked her son in the eye, a shred of lunacy woven in her gaze. "But the Sakamaki blood smells even sweeter. Have they all left already?"

"I'm afraid so," another voice spoke out. The mother and son turned to face the newcomerーthe young woman who had spoken to Hoshio and Yuma earlier. She smiled graciously. "How do you do, Rumi-sama?"

The ghastly woman, Rumi Minose, curtsied. "Fine, thank you. And you, Kaeri-sama?"

Kaeri clasped her hands together, the widest of smiles crossing her thin face.

"Just wonderful~!" She exclaimed. Immediately, she jumped in to explain the adventures she had had so far. "I had the pleasure of running into Hoshio-sama. She's become very cute. I called her by her own alias, Hanakoーyou know, the one she uses for school and suchーand she pretended as though Hoshio-sama was an entirely different person. She's quite the actress! I'm impressed, actually, considering how her memory seems to have been wiped."

"Oh?" Rumi quirked a brow. "So she does have amnesia? That's what I thought. I spoke with her earlier as well, you see, and when I tried to access her memory, I could find nothing prior to today."

The younger woman laughed. "My, Rumi-sama, you've no shame in admitting that! Though, I admit, I tried to as well. I thought my own telepathy was at fault in the beginning, but as Hoshio spoke onーshe did feel rather off. It wasn't long before I suspected something." Kaeri's eyes then began to glint. "Who do you think did it~? I'm betting it was Reiji-sama."

"Oh, my~" Rumi reciprocated her laughter. "I'd have to agreeーI wouldn't doubt Reiji would do a thing like that if Hoshio did something to infuriate him. Though, this is rather intriguing~ I'd like to press into this more. What about you, Souta?"

Rumi's son, Souta Minose, scoffed. "Noーwhether she has her memory or not doesn't matter to me." He looked rather indignant for a moment, but quickly cooled down his temper. Souta was the kind of person who needed constant encouragement, whether that be from his mother, or from the mere possibility of something ending in his favor. "If anything, this makes things easier; I should be the only thing in her world. Now, Mother, you haven't spoken to Karlheinz-sama yet. Where is he?" He crossed his arms, the ugliest of pouts appearing on his face. His mother nodded in understanding.

"It  _is_ frustrating," she agreed. "I only come to these parties if Karlheinz-sama will be making an appearance, but he never shows up!" She then placed her hands on her hips, and bit her bottom lip. "And now all of the Sakamakis have fled. We've got to act quick if we want to get anything done. They only arrived thirty minutes ago!"

"No, they're still in the building," Kaeri explained. "They were merely whisked away by Karlheinz-sama to discuss something in private." However even she began to grow doubtful, as that fact was only a rumorーno one could actually sense their presence at all in the nearby vicinity.

"Hmph," Rumi sighed. "But I do smell Hoshio's blood still," she noted. Both women knew very well that that family was extremely protective of what belonged to them: their prospective brides, their secrets, and each other, to an extent. They might have not cared for one another in the slightest, but the Sakamaki family was bound to each other, however unwittingly. They would not leave without Hoshio. And Rumi, who craved nothing but Sakamaki blood, realized that this circumstance might act in her favor.

"Perhaps if we 'distract' my dear Hoshio," she suggested, "the rest of Karlheinz-sama's offspring will be forced to return." This caused Kaeri to laugh again, amused at Rumi's audacity to propose such a thing, but she went along with it regardless.

"Hoshio-sama seems to be quite willing for answers. Should we promise her that much, she'll do along as we say."

"How clever, Kaeri-sama!" Rumi exclaimed, clapping her hands together. "That idea is marvelous. But we must deal with that inconvenience firstーyou must know his name, don't you? After all, you  _do_ attend their school in your free time."

That comment seemed to offend Kaeri. "I don't play schoolgirl for fun," she insisted, eyes narrowed. "I enrolled in Ryoutei Academy solely to gather intel on the children of our lovely Vampire King. But yes, I know who you're talking aboutーYuma Mukami. My silly schoolgirl character has quite the crush on him. You know, he and his brothers were chosen specially by Karlheinz-sama."

" _Chosen!_ " Rumi guffawed. "Our dearest King has  _horrid_ taste in servants." She was growing visibly distressed by this fact, as, for whatever reason, it truly was unnerving for Rumi to hear. "No servant should ever handle sweet Hoshio the way he did. Well, no matter if Karlheinz-sama 'chose' him or notーservants can always be replaced. And that one in particular is a nuisance."

Rumi and Kaeri then went on to gossip about Yuma, and the other Mukami brothers, while Souta would pipe in with an opinion every once in a while. They both agreed that Yuma was not worth keeping aliveーand decided that in order to lure out the remaining sons of the Sakamaki family, the pair would murder the tallest Mukami and occupy Hoshio back at the party.

Soirées such as this, after all, were deliberately made to entertain demons. This gala would inevitably end in bloodshed. Guests knew the rules very well; they'd be plagued with an insatiable bloodthirst throughout the night, caused by a subtle, maddening scent of blood with no apparent source. And then once the feasts were presented, chaos would break loose. It was precisely what these parties were purposed for in the first place: manslaughter. Of course, that was aside from the social aspect, and the opportunity to gossip with other aristocrats.

But everyone hereーvampires, werewolves, vibora, and othersーall gathered here to satisfy their instinctual bloodlust. It was the main course of the evening.

"Who's to say we can't start the bloodbath early?" Rumi chuckled. "We shouldn't limit it only to humansーservants like that Mukami kid are just as infuriating." Kaeri felt inspired, nodding her head in agreement. They then went on to discuss their plan in further detailーwhile Souta listened, and, from afar, the plain waitress Chie also eavesdropped in on them.

Said waitress rolled her eyes. She faced her co-worker, shaking her head as she spoke.

"Seems Minose-sama is starting trouble again," she commented. "Should we go tell Hoshio-sama?"

The boy waiter laughed, particularly amused by Rumi and Kaeri's murder scheme. "Have they even seen that kid?" he snorted, in reference to Yuma. "He could swallow them both whole!" Chie shared a cackle at that. She raised the back of her palm to shield her mouth as she giggled, while the two of them went on to poke fun at the Minose family.

Rumi was infamous for her foolish ideas. She was a tryhard, and acted as if she ran everything, but really was nothing but a laughing stock for the more sensible aristocrats. Not even common vampires like Chie or her co-worker felt ashamed to mock her behind her back.

"But anyway...  Minose-sama is not very discreet," Chie noted. "If we could hear her, I bet some other nobles could too. They probably all know of her intentions now."

"And of Hoshio-sama's amnesia," the other waiter piped in.

"Oh, yeah. ManーI think we really should go tell her. Or that Mukami guy, at least." The waitress then stood up, readying to go find Hoshio and Yuma upstairs, when her co-worker beside her pointed out:

"...But we don't  _have_ to."

True, it'd been quite a while since they witnessed any sort of drama unfold at one of these events. And to tell the truth, both he and Chie were longing for some kind of excitement to feed off of. So she paused, and tilted her head, before settling back down again.

"Haha, I guess not."

So they remained still and waited, watching as Rumi and Kaeri enacted their scheme into motion.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WE GOT YUMA AND HOHO DISAPPEARING SOMEWHERE
> 
> THEN LE MUKABROS FOLLOWED THEM
> 
> AND NOW WE GOTS TEAM RUMI-KAERI (ft. souta) ON A MOOSE HUNT
> 
> AND LE SAKABROS ARE OFF SOMEWHERE TALKIN WITH KETCHUP DAD
> 
> IM KIND OF EXCITED???
> 
>  
> 
> but my question is
> 
> WHERE THE FRICK IS YUI ;-;


	19. Le Garçon qui Rit

Hoshio was getting herself worked up.

She loathed the feeling of being held like this, and even more so the feeling of folding over one's shoulder. She had been manhandled so roughly thus farーand was sick of it. And Yuma brought her to yet another one of the private rooms upstairs, which had the same color scheme as the one she had occupied with Reiji; though the furniture was laid out differently, giving her an odd strike of déjà vu.

But she was very indignant about thisーwhat  _was_ the use of having so many private rooms? It certainly was convenient for these demons. Though her fury was inflating with every breath she felt Yuma take, Hoshio wasn't wholly ignorant. She wanted to jerk herself free, but she wouldn't neglect the obvious physical differences between Yuma and herself. So she resorted to one of the things she knew she could do.

Hauling herself up, Hoshio placed her hands on the third Mukami son's shoulders. She kept her arms straight to balance the upper half of her body, while Yuma tightened his hold on her waist, preventing her from slipping down. Hoshio stared him in the eyes for a few silent moments. Now that she took the time to study him, she could notice his features more closely. His eyes were plain and brown and narrow, but somehow they still managed to mystify her.

Neither of them moved a muscle as they stared into each other's eyes. Both of them were exasperated by the other, and their eyes did certainly express that; they mirrored a mutual crossness for the person before them. But finally Hoshio made a move, and pursed her lips. She then moved her hands up to his temples, where she gripped the edges of his mask, and ripped it clean from his face.

"Now what?" Yuma grumbled out, but wasn't nearly as bothered by her curious stare as his voice seemed. Hoshio let the facial garment flutter to the floor, and then leaned further toward him. That especially piqued his suspicionsーhe had no idea why she was looming so close to him, nor why she felt so collected all of a sudden. But that must have been a mental lapse on his part, for it couldn't have been more clear what a vampire's intentions were when she drew her lips so close to his neck.

Hoshio, on the other hand, couldn't suppress a smile. This had been so easy! There was a bit of doubt in the back of her head, though, as she thought about the flavor. She did not crave Yuma's blood so much as she had that Hunter boy's, and was worried he would taste awful and her plan would fail because she would be busy gagging up whatever came out of him.

Maybe blood only tasted good when you were thirsty?

Well, when she thought about it now, the idea of drinking the fluids from a living creature's body sounded absolutely  _nauseating_. Hoshio was really beginning to despise herself. She was trying to make a point, and her own anxiety was making this so difficult. She cursed it for that. Just bite, and sip, and if it was nasty, taunt him over it. What was there to worry about?

Her thoughts were interrupted before she could do anything.

"...You want blood?" Yuma questioned, finally piecing things together. When Hoshio didn't say anything, he chuckled. "Go for it," he teased.

She felt her face flush.

"You'd be fine with that—?" she questioned tentatively. She thought back to when Reiji had drunk her blood. It was painful, undoubtedly, but she wouldn't deny that being bitten left her craving...  _more_. More pain, more marks, more intimacy. Of course, she writhed at the thought of someone like Laito doing that to her, so perhaps it was more of a personal pleasure. She couldn't imagine Yuma would be comfortable with  _her_ , though, as they weren't even that acquainted before! (So it seemed?)

And Yuma only snorted at her. "I gave ya the okay, didn't I?"

Hoshio wrinkled her nose. Now that it was consensual, this felt meaningless! So she made up an excuse. "...Well, no, I don't want your blood. You don't smell very appetizing." It wasn't exactly a lie per seーbecause he didn't, not really. There was nothing striking about his scentーnothing striking about his looks either. He was just loud and tall and  _obnoxious_. She didn't like him very much.

But there was a bit of guilt she felt. Because ultimately, she had just told a person to his face that she thought he smelled bad. She spent so long complaining about the rudeness of everyone around her and she acted the very same way. Of course, in any normal situation a person would be thrilled to hear that their blood did not strike a vampire's fancyーit meant that their life would no longer be in danger. But Yuma was a vampire himself, and Hoshio realized that she must have insulted him. At this point she had become a literal walking death wish. She clenched the muscles in her jaw, awaiting his response.

And:

" _PFFT—!!_ "

No, it wasn't Yuma's voice that had laughed, rather, a certain blonde brother of his, who was trying his hardest to stifle his snickers in the background. Hoshio jumped at the sound. She whirled her head around to face the intruders, not at all pleased to see a young trio, consisting of Kou, and two unfamiliar facesーwho would be Ruki and Azusa, respectively.

"Kou-san..?" Hoshio murmured, before she swung out of Yuma's hold. And this time, she made it. She never moved so fast to lengthen the distance between them, and stood by herself, hands free at her side. She grasped onto her skirt for reassurance.

"Sorryーhahaha, I know we were supposed to keep quiet, butー" Kou burst into another fit of giggles, unable to contain himself. "Hoshirin's so cute when she's angry!"

"...What?" Hoshio murmured. Her face had poofed rosy, a mix of embarrassment and more indignation. She couldn't think of a single time when she was actually taken seriously by any of these men. "I have a  _right_ to be angry," she snapped. Kou smiled still, amused still, and turned back to Yuma with a playful smile on his face.

"Well, anyway, Yuma~ You got pretty angry too, huh?"

"...Yuma... is always... angry..." Azusa pointed out. That seemed to irritate the tallest brother even more than he was, which really did nothing but prove Azusa's point. Kou smiled wide at that and hummed, agreeing with their youngest sibling, while Ruki chuckled to himself, and the sole female blinked. She noticed something. For a moment, she let her frustration die down as she held this thoughtー

This family's laughs sounded...  _heartfelt_.

It was a stark contrast to Laito'sーand much more so to Kanato's. Kou's chortles were so genuine, and sweet, even if they were initially meant to disregard her. And Ruki's amusement was just as true. Well, it was silly to judge a person by comparing their laughs to the laughs of another, and her feelings toward Yuma were not swayed; they might have been sweet to each other, but she was an outsider to the Mukami family, and to her they were lying, deriding brutes.

So she turned around while the brothers were occupied with themselves. For now, at least, they were basking in their own company, and no one seemed to be paying attention to her anymore. She took the chance to look around. Look for an escape, maybe.

The room's lavish furniture was arranged as if this was a royal's bedroom, and the oak entrance door was closed shut. It was a beautiful lounge room. Not as grand as her own back at the Sakamaki mansion, of course, but it was still admirable in its own right. Hoshio peered at the door. ...Just by the looks of its aged wood, she could tell it would make an obnoxious creaking sound if she tried to sneak out. She then sniffed at the air, testing out her senses, and had a small hope of sensing...  _Reiji_ , truthfully. But none of the Sakamaki brothers were anywhere in the nearby vicinity.

And that was another thing! If Karlheinz truly was her father, he would have swept her up along with the rest of her "brothers" when he wanted to speak with them. Right?

...No, she felt a bit disparaged with herself. She had rejected nearly every clue thrown her way. Though, just because she verbally insisted that everyone was lying to her didn't necessarily mean she thought so too inside. It was more that she hated how everyone around her knew more about herself than she didーwhich made her spew out things she didn't mean. To try and prove them wrong.

"Hoshio," Ruki began, and pulled her back into focus. Hoshio turned around to face the brothers, to the eldest son, who was still unfamiliar to herーas she hadn't met him until now. It didn't help that everyone wore those fancy masks, but she'd grown accustomed to distinguishing everyone by the color and shape of their hair. And Ruki's was black, which greyed at the tips, and his eyes were a cold dishwater blue.

"Recite to me exactly what occurred from the time you encountered Kou and Yuma up till now," he said.

"Recite?" Hoshio murmured. And then she swelled up huge with prideーshe knew something they did not. It was a first! But she kept herself in check, and did not smile, and did not show any signs of her excitement. Instead she opted to cross her arms. "You can't possibly expect me to give you intel when I don't even know your face."

Ruki stirred, rather piqued by her pretentious response. His lips parted to rebuke her attitude, however Hoshio was busy drowning in her own ego. Knowledge  _was_ power! she realized joyously. But Ruki would not have her.

"I gave you an order, Hoshio," he said. "You will not refuse me."

"Well, I just did," Hoshio blurted out before she could even hesitate. Yes, she was going to die tonight. She only woke up threeーfour? hours ago, but she will perish before a full twenty-four go by. If Ruki doesn't murder her, her own arrogance will surely drown her.

Meanwhile, Kou continued to crack himself up. He was desperately clutching at his stomach at this point, and had to reach a shaky hand over to Azusa's shoulder in order to keep his balance. Evidently, Ruki was not pleased with being treated like a spectacle. Especially not by his own brother! But he took his fury out on his laughing sibling instead of Hoshioーand reached over to smack him upside the head. There was a strong, but subtle force in that, that could be felt and heard but not seen. Kou immediately silenced himself to wince at the impact. He gripped at his curly blonde tufts, mewling about how much that had hurt, while Ruki remained indifferent, and Hoshio stared.

"Quit acting so immature. We are attending a demon noble's soirée, so sharpen up your act." And then he turned to the female in front of him. "And you, Hoshio. You are not as high and mighty as your ego might be telling you. Learn to respect your peers." Her mouth shut at that, the vanity completely wiped off her face, but Ruki hadn't finished. "A self-inflicted impairment like amnesia cannot excuse such brash behavior."

...Somehow, he kind of sounded like Reiji.

And  _self-inflicted_ , he said! Whatever had happened, whether at her own hand or at nature's or at someone else's, what difference did it make? She wasn't herself and none of her supposed acquaintances were helping to nurse her back. Except Yuma, with that one reveal. And Reiji, when he felt like it. And Hoshio felt like shrieking again.

"...I'm sorry," she murmured. She felt like shrieking at that, too. Her pride was melting before her eyes! But a scolding from someone like Ruki, whose name she still did not know, and whose face was most unfamiliar out of the group, she felt rather affected. And through this she realized she did not have a positive relationship with anyone she had met so far. Laito frightened her, Kanato exasperated her, Yuma overwhelmed her, Ruki belittled her, and Reiji... confused her.

No positivity at all! Well, no, she was positive about one thingーthat she hated this world. She cursed this entire situation. She wanted to disappear. She began to yearn for Reiji's presence again, though she wasn't sure why. He wasn't any better, nor would he do her any good. He was her brother, and he kept that from her! He defiled her, and hurt her, but....

...She craved his warmth.

He didn't  _feel_ like her brother. She felt something strong when she had that flashback of her sister, but she didn't have that same connection with Reiji. And that's how she came to this conclusion. He was just an acquaintanceーwhose house she had spent the night in to prepare for the soirée, right? That haunted manor wasn't  _her_ house.

Hoshio's head was beginning to spin. What was the truth..?

The door creaked open then, as if on cue, like a treasure chest opening up to reveal all the answers she sought. She was half-expecting to see Reiji enter the threshold. Actually, she had forgotten all of her previous thoughts in anticipation for his presence. But it was not Reiji who stepped through, rather, a female, who had come to be known as Kaeri Shiroda. The one who had called her Hanako.

And through her, Hoshio spotted her chance.

 


	20. Dérangements

Kaeri poked her head through the door, eyes wide and curious as she noted who exactly was standing in this room. Her gaze landed on Yuma first, to whom she smiled brightly, and then she met with Hoshio's intricately-masked face.

"Ah, Hana-chan~? What're you doing up here?" she queried. Quietly, she added: "...With Yuma-kun...?" But once she realized that Yuma and Hoshio were not alone together, and that the tallest boy's three brothers were sharing this same air along with them, she seemed to calm down a bit. Hoshio wondered if she was jealous? But this girl's feelings were of no concern to herーbecause Hoshio felt nothing for Yuma Mukami.

"Anyway, what's goin' on?" Kaeri continued, voice cheery. She stepped fully into the room.

"Nothing that concerns you." Ruki was quick to send her off. "Excuse us." He might have said that, but rather than exiting himself, he shooed Kaeri away instead. And she pouted in return, only slightly offended.

"Don't be like that~ I just wanted to grab Hana-chan for somethin' quick. Can I?" Kaeri moved forward to grab Hoshio's arms, her grip firm but gentle, and the girl in her grasp made no moves to stop her. "Thanks!"  Hoshio was tugged close to Kaeri's body rather abruptly. Still, she didn't try to resistーthis was her chance, after all, as she had decided seconds ago. Kaeri seemed nice enough anyway, and even if she wasn't, at least she would get them out of this room!

But it was lucky that Kaeri was so sweet on Yuma. That way, she wouldn't allow him to get close to any other girlーand alternatively, Hoshio wouldn't have to worry about being harrassed again. Everything would work out in the end, she imagined. And so she gave the four Mukami guests a curt farewell wave as she was pulled out into the hallway. Her vision obscured only once the door shut behind both women.

Then she wanted answers.

"Whaー" Hoshio began, hushing herself once Kaeri laid a cold finger on her lips.

"You don't have to explain anything, Hoshio-sama," she whispered, and Hoshio's eyes flew open. Kaeri had used her name! Even if 'Hoshio' was still foreign to her, having one thing to identify herself withーone that she  _knew_ was trueーgave her a peace of mind. But still, why Hanako? Hoshio furrowed her brows, wanting to spew out a new collection of questions she had accumulated, but decided to await Kaeri's next words.

...She wasn't expecting an embrace.

Unlike her finger, Kaeri's entire body was warm, and soft, and she clung around Hoshio's body in a way that was not tight and not restrictiveーbut  _comfortable_. The mahogany-haired woman's eyes were the size of saucers at this new sensation. It was strange. She wasn't sure how she felt.

"Were you alright there, Hoshio-sama?"

The warmth only spread deeper within Hoshio's chest once she heard that, and she was overcome with a welcoming feeling of security. No one had ever shown concern for her well-being like that. It stunned her, and she was unable to process her thoughts properly. She stared at the wall behind Kaeri. There was nothing in her headーnothing but the feeling of Kaeri's hair brushing up against the side of her face. Hoshio was at a loss for words. She couldn't move at all until finally she snapped away to wipe the moisture from her eyes.

Kaeri sputtered out a laugh at that. She unwrapped herself from the amnesiac's body, resting her hands on her shoulders, with a bright smile gracing her features.

"Are you okay?" she asked again, though this time it was lighter, as she was nothing but amused with the amnesiac girl's emotional response. Hoshio forced out a nod.

"Y-yes, I... fine," she stuttered, then blinked a few times. She thanked Kaeri with her most gracious tone of voice after that, thanking her for worrying. Kaeri shrugged it off with yet another laugh. This was terribly amusing to her! Hoshio had become just like a very polite child. This world was so new to her, but she kept herself elegant and courteous and fearlessーand that, Kaeri found endearing. However, she still had to keep her act up. Knitting her brows together, she cocked her head to the side, and pressured Hoshio for a truer response.

"Are you sure you're fine...?" she asked, to which Hoshio nodded again, more confident this time. So Kaeri tried to tear open a different wound. "How do you feel about the Sakamaki family, then?"

In Kaeri's eyes, Hoshio had softened into a meek, clueless (albeit haughty) human girl, whose only semblance of her vampire nature lied within the fangs affixed in her mouth. And that was all she was. To be truthful, this whole amnesia issue rather excited Kaeri. She was eager to hear what Hoshio had to sayーhow she would react.

And no, it didn't disappoint.

"I don't think poor of them," she lied through her teeth. Kaeri could hear it so. "They are my family, after all." She had added in that last bit as a means for confirmation. In Hoshio's mind, should Kaeri nod and agree with her, it would make it all trueーKarlheinz was her father, and Reiji was her brother. She desperately hoped Kaeri would raise a brow in confusion instead.

...Lady Luck, however, seemed to have decided to smile upon someone else that evening.

"True..." Kaeri agreed, "but you never get to choose your family. If they really are bothering you, you can tell me, okay? I know they're not... the preferred type of people you'd want to wake up to."

Hoshio froze. Someone else could see it, then! She was glad that the Sakamaki's behavior wasn't typical in this worldーand Kaeri understood their indecent antics! Yes, she wanted to cry again, and wanted to shower this woman in kisses, and she wished she could escape with Kaeri far, far away instead of being bound to those good-for-nothing Sakamaki children. And she would take advantage of Kaeri's reassurance, definitely; so Hoshio lowered her head, gazed at the ground, and opened her mouth to explain her situation. But this time someone would listen.

"Firstly, you must know that my memories have eluded me," she began. "I have nothing but three fragments of my past and whatever the people have said." Kaeri nodded at this, as she had already known that. (Or, had gotten the basic gist of it.) She let Hoshio continue. "To tell the truth, this is frighteningーI don't like not knowing things. And no one has really told me much."

Kaeri smiled, a warm and inviting type of expression. "Well, I know some things," she reassured. "I would hate to keep them from youーafter all, it's only natural you'd be curious, right? I'll begin with myself. My name is Kaeri Shiroda, and I'm one of your classmates at school."

"I'm school-age?" Hoshio was incredulous. She definitely did not feel that young! Kaeri's smile crept further along her face. The human instinct was quite prominent in that comment. A human's lifespan was far shorter than a vampire's, of course, and mortals valued ages much more. For vampires, on the other hand, silly things like years did not matter. You could be a skittish infant or an elder who was already rotting away, but the only thing your peers cared about was your power. So long as you had strength, you would be hailed. And it was trueーsome skittish infants and some rotting elders still did retain their powerful capabilities.

And Kaeri didn't mind explaining that.

"Well... you are a vampire, yes?" She questioned. Hoshio hesitated, then nodded, affirmatively. "Then, you should know, that as vampires... we are immortal. You are actually hundreds of years older than you appear."

Hoshio's lips parted. "...Hundreds?" Her skin was perfectly smooth and clear, and young. She did not feel several centuries old at all. ...Well, at this point, she wasn't sure what she felt. She thought back to her mother, who was crinkled and withered and very obviously old. If vampire's physical bodies did not age, how did her mother? So she asked:

"Was my mother a vampire?"

Kaeri replied rhetorically. "You are a pureblood, aren't you?"

Hoshio still wasn't certain what they meant. She supposed it had something to do with why all the guests seemed infatuated by her mere presence here, but the hierarchy system of vampires was not what she wanted to waste this discussion on.

"What was my mother's name?"

At this, Kaeri was bemused.

"Cordelia."  
  
  


Hoshio thought about it. 'Cordelia' did not fit that elderly woman at all, she thought. But then again, she hadn't thought 'Hoshio' fit herself much either, initially. But anywayーwhat a weird name her mother had! 'Cordelia' gave her the impression of a young and foreign European princess, someone regal and dignified, and most certainly not the withering woman from her memory. Even less her own mother! ...Well, she had to admit she didn't look wholly Asian herselfーnone of the Sakamaki brothers didーand it wouldn't be unusual to assume she was mixed. Her father's name was European as well, after all.

And Reiji's own mother, too! 'Beatrix' was most certainly not a customary Japanese name. Though thinking about that caused Hoshio to pause. They were half-siblings, then, if Reiji's mother was not Cordelia, and if Hoshio's was not Beatrix. ...Oh, but maybe Kaeri's mind had slipped as well, because the name 'Beatrix' sounded much more familiar to her than 'Cordelia' did.

No, no, she trusted Kaeri. Then, Cordelia was her mother. Karlheinz was her father. She had six brothers, but Reiji shared only half her blood. And she had been a vampire her entire life.

"Does that name ring a bell?" Kaeri queried. Hoshio shook her head.

"No," she murmured, voice despairing. It was only now that she realized she was no longer standing by the private rooms, as Kaeri had led her down to the end of the corridor. She hadn't been paying attention. But, this didn't matter to her. "Is my mother alive still, though?"

"I don't think so," Kaeri admitted. "I don't know much about your mother, sorry."

At least she was honest. And that, Hoshio was grateful for regardless. She nodded as they walked along, and prodded further. "Then, do you know about my sister?"

"I haven't met her, no," Kaeri said. Hoshio jumped at that.

"So she  _does_ exist, then!" She was overjoyed. The girl from her memories was undoubtedly a full-blood relative, and she had  _known_ it from the start. They looked so much alike anywayーsame eyes, same nose, same scent. The only exception was a subtle difference of facial structure. Whereas her sister's face was long and thin, Hoshio's was more rounded, and she had a bit more color in her cheeks. But besides thatーhopefully she'd get to see her in person! Yes, she was excitedーshe cursed Yuma for lying to her, but he was of no importance now that she knew her sister was alive! Althoughーー

"Wait, wait," Kaeri raised her hands in defense. A sheepish smile adorned her lips. "I meantーI'm not sure.  _If_ your sister does exist, I haven't met her."

Hoshio came to a still.

"Oh..."

But she came to accept it, and instead decided to change the subject. "Well... who's Hanako, then?"

Kaeri went along with it. "You."

Hoshio grew dubious again. She didn't know anymore. Nothing at all. Slowly, her brows knitted together, and she started doubting her trust in Kaeri. "I'm fairly certain the people know me better as Hoshio," she said. Her companion nodded, as there was nothing she could do to object to thatーit was true, most people did. Or rather... most  _demons_ did.

"You attend the same school as your brothers, you know?" Kaeri said. "And... you didn't want to be associated with them, I believe. So you picked up an alias to use in your private life."

Hoshio's facial expression grew even more perplexed. "That sounds confusing," she murmured. "And the people who know me as Hoshio... do they really honor that in public?"

"I've come to use it interchangeably," Kaeri shrugged. "I've heard Laito-kun let it slip a few times, but no one's really caught on... I think."

Hoshio could see why she wouldn't want to be associated with that family, even if it was her own, but this whole alias thing sounded... stupid, if she had to be honest. How did anyone keep track of it? And what was the use? She was centuries old and still attending school, for whatever reason, but surely she was old enough to live on her own? She saw no point in remaining in that mansion.

"...Why am I still with them?" Hoshio averted her gaze, and then paused. There was a question that had been plaguing her mind since Laito first kissed her, so she decided to ask it now. It made sense, after all. "Do I have a betrothed?" If she did have one, the fact that she still remained in the Sakamaki mansion would be even more suspicious.

"Situations are different when you come from a family as respectable as yours," Kaeri answered earnestly. And then, without batting an eye, she gave a response to Hoshio's second query. "And yes, you do have a betrothedーyou met him already, I think. Remember Souta Minose? He and his mother spoke with you and Reiji-san earlier."

Hoshio's mouth fell agape.

That ghastly woman's son?

No, no..

She was horrified, to say the least.

"What...?" Hoshio let her crinkling nose explain just how she felt about that revelation. That, and the ends of her lips twitched downward, as if she was lurching to retch. But she apologized instead. "I'm sorry,  _how_..? Souta Minose? The ghastly boy?"

Kaeri placed a finger on her own lips, smiling knowingly. "I take it your last meeting didn't go down too well, then?"

Well, if someone like Kaeri was so unbothered by thisーperhaps he  _was_ alright. After all, Hoshio had shared only few words with Souta. Most of her judgement was based on his appearance, which was never a righteous thing to do. Maybe he truly was sweet and kind and she was letting his unfortunate facial features deter her from a happy, healthy marriage.

Enough thoughts about marriage, thoughーHoshio was tired of romances. Souta's mere mention had ruined the mood for her. She thought it horrible of her, but he did. She couldn't think anything good of him. Just the faces he made when his mother brought up a proposed marriage between him and Hoshioーand now it turned out, they actually  _were_ betrothed?

She wanted another subject change. This hadn't gone down the way she wanted it to.

"What is the point of this soirée, anyway?" Hoshio questioned, after she had thought about Souta Minose for a bit. The girls had continued walking, and at some point had appeared in the lobby again. It was completely empty this time. No one sat at the tables, and the dishes and wine glasses were all swept away. It was dark.

"You came here not knowing even that?" Kaeri asked, incredulous. Hoshio's lids fell half-shut.

"They didn't really give me a choice," she muttered.

"Mm," Kaeri nodded. "Well... I guess this soirée... it's to rid of disturbances."

_It's to rid of disturbances._

The phrase burned in Hoshio's mind. What did that mean? The first thing that Hoshio thought of was maybe to fund an ongoing war. That wasn't very likely, but she still thought about it.

And then they both returned to the ballroom. But this time, the music had silenced, and everything was quiet. The dancers had stopped dancing, and were all seated at long tables which had somehow materialized while Hoshio was upstairs. The air was incredibly tense.

"Oh, good! We would have been late!" Kaeri whisper-shouted, pulling Hoshio further into the room. She didn't try to resist; she was dazed by the sudden stillness of the room. But she did notice that that alluring smell of human blood had increased tenfold, and it bothered her. She had to know where it was coming fromーshe  _needed_ itーbut Kaeri soon ushered her to sit down, and quickly they collapsed round a white party table.

 _...Is this a wedding, maybe?_  Hoshio thought. She brought her gaze to the other faces at this table with her, and she jerked upright when she noticed Souta Minose sitting across from her.  _What if the wedding is for me?!_

Souta smiled when he caught her staring. ...Well, in contrast to the rest of him, his smile was actually rather endearingーbut Hoshio still didn't like it. She wrinkled her nose and downturned her gaze to her lap. Maybe if she just sat through whatever this strained quiet was for, and endured that bloodlust, she'd be fine. Thinking that this was a wedding for her was just a selfish anxiety on her part, probably.

...Or was it?

"Um, Kaerー" Hoshio whispered, but the girl quickly shushed her.

"Don't worry," she reassured. Hoshio did not feel reassured. Kaeri's earlier comment floated back to her mind.

 

_"It's to rid of disturbances."_


	21. Début du Dîner Banquet

Hoshio's lips parted as she tried to understand what exactly was going to happen. The room's lights had dimmed down, casting an ethereal ochre glow across the entirety of the ballroom. There were no windows in this room, and she could not make out the door from which she had entered from. The guests sat in perfect stillness, perfect quietude.

Even the ones dressed in black and crimson refrained from any sort of movement, besides the rise and fall of their chests as they each breathed out. Hoshio was not very good at fitting in. She whipped her head to and fro as she scanned through the room, observing everything around her. She did not find much.

And then everyone stood.

Suddenly the noise of creaking seats and heels against vinyl filled her ears, as the guests all rose in reverence of someone. The party in front of Hoshio's table was much taller than her, so she could not see who said someone was, but she felt too shy to peek around the men before her. Instead she listened to this person's footsteps as they came up to the front of the tables, and then everyone bowed.

She only caught a glimpse of the personーhe was a man, well-statured and well-dressed, and didn't look like anybody she'd ever seen before. At his side was a young girl. She could not be older than a toddler, but already had a very mature air about her. Hoshio didn't get a good look at either of them before she forced herself to curtsy, as everyone else seemed to be doing that too. Whoever these people were, they were powerful enough to silence an entire ballroom. She didn't want to do anything that would catch their attention.

But Kaeri giggled from her side.

"You don't have to curtsy, Hoshio-sama," she said, smiling. Hoshio wrinkled her nose. Well, Kaeri was bowing. Why didn't she have to? There wasn't a single person in this room who was not kneeling in respect for this father and daughter duo. For a moment, she wondered if Kaeri was saying that just to humiliate her. So Hoshio nodded and thanked Kaeri for the advice, but remained with her head lowered, just as everyone else was doing.

No one else said a word about it, so she figured she was doing nothing wrong. Then the host spoke.

"I'd like to thank all of you for coming tonight," he said, and Hoshio raised her vision just a little to peek up at him. "Unfortunately, the honorable sons of our Vampire King, Karlheinz-sama, have already withdrawn for the evening. However, his lovely daughter Hoshio-sama still graces us with her presence." At that, all eyes turned to Hoshio, who was still digesting that man's words. ...They had called Karlheinz a king! So did that make her a princess...? She wasn't very fond of the attention she was receiving, but kept her gaze on the man, who chuckled to himself. "Ohime-sama, I am honored! But please, there's no need to curtsy for meーwill you stand?"

So she did. Pulling herself upright, Hoshio glanced around the room, and then gripped one wrist when she had nowhere to rest her hands. She watched in a silent gratitude as the guests retracted their eyes from her figure, re-affixing themselves back on their host. His cute daughter was smiling wide in the presence of an audience so big. Somehow, though, the sight of a young child came as a comfort to Hoshioーno one would do anything bad in the presence of a child. ... _Right?_

"The noble Rumi-sama has also excused herself, and is currently dwelling upstairs. However, she has requested that I greet the rest of our guests without her. Though this is not ideal, we are short on time, and so I shall begin." He received a few chuckles at that, but they all sounded forced to Hoshio, and she was beginning to think this whole place was very, very weird.

"All of us know the importance of our respective clansーbut soirées like these are meant to bring our families together. Our home in the demon realm is not the most perfect, which I am aware of, but I hope here we can learn to appreciate one anothers' existences. For tonight, we will indulge in our desiresーsomething that is mutual amongst all of us, and that is absolute."

Hoshio felt her brows crease. What on  _earth_ was he talking about?

"I suppose you already know the rules of these gatherings, yes? For those who need a refresher," the man looked directly at Hoshio as he said that piece, "I will briefly go through them again. When your courses are brought to your table, you may devour anything you wish. Everything is already paid for! Take this time to enjoy yourselves. In the meanwhile, I will step around to formally introduce myself to the each of you. Please look forward to it."

The man then excused himself from the stage, and as everyone took their seats again, the voices rose up. They were loud, indistinct chatters, wisping through Hoshio's ears like spirits. She had a bit of trouble remembering that she was at a table of her own, until Kaeri grabbed her hand, and brought her back into focus.

"So, Hoshio-sama," she started, eyes shining bright. "You already know me and Souta-sama, but here's the rest of our party. There's Souta-sama's uncle and cousins there," she motioned to the ghastly boy's relatives. In comparison to Souta and his mother, they looked... normal? Their skin still retained its lively glow, and the uncle was very broad and rotund. His adult children had plump, circular faces and a kind softness in their eyes, while Souta always looked menacing.

"Hello," Hoshio greeted. She quickly turned back to Kaeri. "Um, Kaeri, what is going on?"

"The host of the soirée just gave a speech is all," Kaeri explained. Sensing Hoshio's urge for her to elaborate, she continued: "He's a distant cousin of the Vibora King, Zweig-sama. I'd say the guests here only attend because of him, and because of Karlheinz-sama's supposed appearance... but Karlheinz-sama never showed."

Hoshio folded her hands together. She knew what a vibora was, somehow, so that didn't come as a total revelation to her.

"Well, anyway, do you mind if I tell them?" Kaeri asked, removing her hands from Hoshio's own. The girl in question blinked.

"Tell who? About what?"

Instead of responding, Kaeri took that as an affirmation, and turned to the other people sitting at the table. "Guess what, guys? Hoshio-sama has amnesia, you see, and doesn't remember much. So be good with her, okay?" As the amnesiac registered what Kaeri had just said, she froze up. She didn't like the idea of someone going around just telling everybody that! Of course, she hadn't been so careful with who  _she_ told, but it still didn't sit well with her. She felt like she was losing control of things.

"Waiー" She jumped, lurching a hand over to cover Kaeri's mouth, but the black-haired girl had already revealed as much as she could.

"Aw, honey..." one of the women cooed. "Don't worry. You were very close with both the Shiroda and Minose families; sometimes you'd just show up for a visit unexpectedly! We loved your company, though. And I'm sure I can speak for all of us when I say we'll try to ease you back into your life as best as we can."

Hoshio lowered her hands. ...Maybe this wouldn't be so bad? She glimpsed back up at Souta, who was speaking with his uncle. The both of them looked very engaged in whatever topic they were discussing; she wasn't expecting someone like Rumi's son to look so energetic and... at ease. He still had that sharpness in his eyes, but perhaps that was natural.

What a family! ...Perhaps she was thankful to be in their presence now.

"Come to think of it," Kaeri noted, "you were originally scheduled to come over to the Shiroda mansion after this soirée, too! I know your situation might be a little different now, but if you still wanted to we'd be more than happy to take care of you till the morning!"

Hoshio froze.

...It certainly was tempting. Kaeri had answersーnot all, but she was honest about the ones she didn't knowーand the rest of her party would undoubtedly have even more information. And that's all she really wanted, right? ...Well, besides from seeing her sister, and her mother and father. Hoshio furrowed her brows.

"But why did my family leave?" she questioned. "Where did they go?"

That prompted a dismal expression to cross Kaeri's face. Biting her lip, she admitted, "Um, to tell you the truth... I don't really know where your brothers are. When they left, the rumors spread around the ballroom that Karlheinz-sama came to speak with them in private, but I didn't actually sense your father arrive. No one did. As far as I know, they just left you."

Hoshio wasn't sure what to think of that. So she nodded, as that was all she could do, and turned to face another member of Kaeri's party when prompted to. Her eyes met with those of a handsome young man. He told her more about the Sakamaki familyーapparently he was in a few of Laito and Subaru's classesーand how the brothers were held in high regard among the student body. He claimed that Ayato and Laito were both very popular, but Kou Mukami outshined everyone as the idolized popstar of Ryoutei Academy.

"Oh, does he sing?" Hoshio asked, before realizing what she had just said. Duh, of  _course_ he sangーhe was an idol! "...Does he have a lot of fans?"

The boy laughed at her rephrased question. "Yeah, it gets kinda discouraging at times," he admitted. "He gets all the girls."

Hoshio wrinkled her nose. "Surely there's more to him than that."

"If ya count his big-ass ego and a habit of breaking hearts, then yeah, I guess."

This one did not speak like a noble boy should. And Hoshio had no clue how to continue on their conversation, so she reserved herself again, only nodding. He took that as a sign to go on, mentioning the rest of the Academy's opinion on the Sakamaki and Mukami families. Apparently those two families despised each other, but the student body adored them.

"Reiji-sama and Ruki have a fanbase too, somehow," the boy explained. "Their fangirls are the shy ones who are lowkey hella kinky."

His manner of speech came off as odd to Hoshio. He used such a formal, respectful honorific with Reiji's name, but his words were much less than reverent. She had to admit it was kind of interesting to listen to, as foreign as it was to her ears. The boy went back to talking about how badly the Sakamaki and Mukami families got along, and then brought up the name Yui Komori. He claimed that she was probably the only human student there who had the courage to engage with both families. But Hoshio interrupted him at the mere mention of that name.

"Yui..?" she queried. Why did that sound so familiar?

She thought then about that note that had been on her dresser. What had it said? The characters burned in her headーshe remembered their shapes so clearly, though she still couldn't make out what they said.

_ーーユイを一人にしないで_

But slowly, the words began to reform in her memory. They peeled themselves from their incoherent scribbles into legible writing, and Hoshio had never undergone an experience like thatーit was like the climax of a novel, its twists and mysteries unraveling all in her head.

_DイtをleーvにYuなloで_

What did it mean? Hoshio was staring intently at her hands as she thought about this message, brows furrowed in deep concentration. The boy she had been speaking with reached out to her, unsure what was going on with her.

_DoイtをleavにYuナaloで_

It sort of made sense now. Hoshio blinked a few times as she came to. She peered back up at the boy with wide, confused eyes, her breath caught in her throat. He tilted his head to the side, trying to comprehend what was making her look so bewildered.

"What happened?"

ーー _Don't leave Yui alone._

Hoshio quickly snapped out of it.

"Nothing, sorry. I just remembered something."

Fortunately he accepted that without a second thought, and no one urged her to elaborate. Kaeri decided to join in on their conversation after that, overhearing their mention of Yui.

"Come to think of it, you guys didn't bring Komori-san along with you, huh?" she piped up. She was smirking again, like she always did. She smiled far too often! And they weren't happy smiles eitherーthey made her look like she was mocking the world below her.

"Well, maybe that's for the best," the boy cousin replied. They bantered on about Yui's whereabouts, and asked Hoshio where exactly the blonde human girl wasーbut the amnesiac was busy stressing herself out.

Maybe her inability to read before had stunted a plan! What if she had erased her own memories and left behind a single set of instructions which she was supposed to follow? Supposed to bring Yui with her to this party? Did Yui know everything? Or maybe she had been smart in wanting to stay home so desperatelyーa subconscious attempt to fulfill her pre-amnesiac wish?

She had an ominous feeling in the pit of her stomach now. It made her kind of nauseous, and she stood up, wanting to excuse herself to the restroom. Just a few minutes to clear her head, that was all she wanted. But when she spun around, she was faced with a man, who offered her a cordial smile.

"Good evening, Hoshio-sama."

He was the hostーthe Vibora King's distant cousinーand beside him was his young daughter.

"Of course, I am blessed to be in your presence as well, Minose-sama, Shiroda-sama." He said, but did not look any members of Kaeri's party in the eye. Instead he bent down to take Hoshio's hand, and brushed his lips across her four knuckles. He then straightened his back, and his smile was brought back to his face.

"It was only natural that I greet you first, Ohime-sama. Have you been enjoying yourself?"

"Um... yes," Hoshio murmured. She figured she had no choice but to entertain this conversation until the host left. "Thank you. Who are you?" Well, by the end of that sentence, she had lost all of her assumed charisma.

The host chuckled. "My name is Jakurai. This is my daughter Asho." He motioned down to his side, where his young girl stood, wearing a bright, crooked grin on her round face.

"Hello!" she greeted.

"...Hello," Hoshio said. ...She had to admit that the little girl was very adorable. She was bright and cheery, and still Hoshio felt relieved to be in a child's presence. Asho had two fangs protruding from her lips, which were longer than any fangs Hoshio had seen so far. These were more... snakelike. But Hoshio thought they were rather fitting, as Asho would have looked off if they were any shorter.

But then the little girl asked her something. "Why had your family abandon you?"

Hoshio blinked. She stared into Asho's curious eyes, who seemed blissfully unaware of the question she just asked. Hoshio had no clue what to say to that! Fortunately her father swiftly took control of the situation.

"Darling, please don't ask such rude questions! Hoshio-sama is here of her own accord. Please forgive her, Hoshio-sama." Jakurai pet the top of his daughter's head, as a subtle warning to get her to stop asking brusque questions like those. Asho didn't take it, and opted to reword her initial question.

"Does your brothers hate you?" she asked. Her father looked a bit horrified now, and quickly moved to usher her away. He told her to return upstairs to go play with her nurse, but at that Asho began complaining.

"I wanna more talk at her!" she whined. Her father pushed her further away from the Shiroda party.

"Perhaps afterwards, darling," he mediated. Asho started to fight back at him, not at all enjoying being tossed away like that.

"NO! Papa, let go!!" she screamed. Jakurai immediately released her. It was easy to reason that causing a scene would be much worse than subjecting Hoshio to disparaging questionsーbecause the former could ruin his image. And his successful daughter stole the chance to run back up to the pureblood amnesiac.

"So? Does they?" she queried. Hoshio still couldn't respond. Because really, she had no clue. Reiji didn't seem to hate her... and Laito... probably loved her more than he should. Subaru was the only one thus far that showed  _some_ kind of animosity with her, though it was small. But she wasn't about to burden all of that onto a naïve toddler with broken grammar.

Instead, Hoshio asked, "Do you have siblings, Asho-chan?"

"Mhm, I has fourteen."

"...Then you must have fights with them sometimes too, don't you? But it doesn't mean you hate them." Hoshio pointed out. By now, she was kneeling down in front of the young vibora. Her hands rested on her knees, a soft smile gracing her features. It was here that she realized she might have had a soft spot for children. Unlike the adults she had interacted with thus far, a toddler had no motive to harm her. Perhaps that was why?

"No. They died. I'm the only one left," Asho explained. "But I hate them. Even if they alive, I hate them."

"Alright, that's enough, Asho," Jakurai cut in, and this time he lifted his daughter up in his arms. "I will take you to your nurse myself." He apologized to Hoshio one final time, before turning away, and stepped away from the guests. Hoshio could vaguely hear his daughter shrieking out her protests, but Jakurai stroked her back, and kissed her forehead, soothing her in any way he could.

"I don't wanna go upstairs! It smells like fire!" she begged.

"That's merely from the chefs in the kitchen, darling. The upstairs is perfectly fine."

...Well, now that it was brought up, Hoshio realized that there actually  _was_ a distinct odor of smoke wafting from the upstairs. And no, it was certainly not coming from the kitchen.

She sensed it from the room she had inhabited just a few minutes agoーwhere she had been with Yuma, and the rest of the Mukami brothers. She wasn't sure how she could tell that much, but she supposed her vampiric senses were just beginning to sharpen up.

...Oh, but, that wasn't exactly a good sign.

 


	22. Pas de Sortie

Pulling herself back to her feet, Hoshio felt the muscles in her jaw clench. She turned back to the Shiroda party's table, where she met with Kaeri, who wore a bemused expression on her face. She had been enjoying the interactions between the pureblood princess and the toddler-aged duchess. However, she didn't seem to have yet noticed Hoshio's taut apprehension.

"Viboras are cute when they're young," Kaeri hummed.

"...I think, I'm going to go back upstairs for a minute," Hoshio said. "I need to check on something." Her hands folded together as she spoke, and her eyes never once met with the vampire before her, but she had a horrible foreboding that was lurching in her stomach. She had to appease it.

"Upstairs? Why?" Kaeri quirked a brow, and pulled herself upright. Then her face darkened. "...You're not going to see Yuma-kun... are you?" She had deliberately conjured a threatening tone of voice, as means to scare Hoshio offーto make her understand that Yuma belonged to  _her_. But that was not Hoshio's intention at all, so it was not effective.

"No, it's just... I smell fire. I wanted to make sure everything's okay."

Why did she care? The Mukami brothers were none of Hoshio's concernーbut it still didn't sit well with her that they might be in danger. And besides, they were the closest things she had to Yui. That one male cousin had said that Yui was the sole link between the Sakamaki and Mukami families. And when all of Hoshio's brothers were vanished, she had no one else to turn to. Kaeri was not an option eitherーshe had already made it clear that she didn't know about Yui's whereabouts.

...But for some reason, said vampire noble grew even more aggressive once she heard Hoshio's reason for wanting to leave.

"We have servants for a reason," Kaeri pointed out. "So stay here."

"I really need to check myself, though," Hoshio urged. "I'll come back."

With that, she turned around to go find an exit, but Kaeri immediately jumped up. She let herself drop onto Hoshio's side, clinging onto her arm to prevent her from escaping. Her lips twitched up into a bright, pressuring grin. Hoshio felt uneasy at the sudden contact, and the sheer weirdness of this entire interaction, but she supposed this was just how it wasーKaeri was already very touchy-feely, she knew. Except this time, she was doing everything she could to lull Hoshio back to the table.

"C'mon, worrying like that won't do your amnesia any good! It's just the chefs in the kitchenーyour senses must still be off, haha!"

No, Hoshio did not like this one bit. This was very strange of Kaeri to be talking like she was. It was unnatural; Hoshio was not so lost that she couldn't tell that much! There was something Kaeri wasn't telling her. Something she was hiding.

"...Kaeri-san, please release me."

"Here, I'll introduce you to my other cousins! You met my father's side, the Shiroda family, but I assure you my mother's side is just as cool! Let's see, there's my favorite cousin over there! Let's go say hi."

Hoshio was not one to raise her voice often, especially not in a crowded place that could draw so much attention, but she couldn't hold herself back anymore. Kaeri was being abnormally possessive. She loathed the feeling of confinementーthese past six hours had definitely ensured thatーand this was not giving her ease of comfort, not at all. She had to stick up for herself this time. And so, she spoke, gathering as much persuasion as she could muster.

"Get your hands  _off_ me, Kaeri-san _!!_ "

Kaeri stilled within an instant. There were eyes all around them, the stern gazes of the other guests impaling their bodies, but judging only one. It was then that Shiroda felt a bit of consciousness sink inーshe had gotten ahead of herself. True, she had been trying to win Hoshio over before any of the other aristocrats could weasel their way in to foil her plans, but it had slipped her mind that Hoshio had a one-track mind at the moment: Hoshio was here for  _answers_. As curious as a cat. And now, Kaeri was preventing her from obtaining those. To the amnesiac now, she was nothing but a hindrance. She had to fix her image.

"Oh my gosh, I'm  _so_ sorry," Kaeri drawled out, immediately releasing the dazed Hoshio. Luckily, she was rather skilled at patching up her missteps. "I just got excited! I'll save a plate for you. When you feel better, we'll eat together, okay?"

"...Okay.." Hoshio still felt uneasy, and rubbed her arm where Kaeri had held onto her. But she accepted itーand sprinted. She ran back to where she had first emerged from, and scanned the walls for some sort of exit, though she found none. There was just the darkness, and a barrier between herself and the lobby. Hoshio scaled up the rest of that wall, but did not once find what she was looking for.

That was, until she turned around at one point, and met with the boy from just a minute ago. She froze.

"Hey," he said. Hoshio leered away from him, her discomfort growing more and more apparent.

"What do you want?" she asked. The boy rubbed the back of his head. When he spoke, his voice had become slow, much slower than usual.

"I just, ehm, figured you might need some help. You don't remember how to get out of here, right?" A small, relieving smile landed on his face, as means to sweeten Hoshio's opinion of him, but it felt more forced than not. She wondered why he knew to approach her right then, offering exactly the assistance she needed. But she lowered her hand from the wall, and did not ask this.

"...The door was here before," she noted. "Do the walls move?"

"There was never a door to begin with," the boy responded. "Here, I'll show you the w—" But whatever else the boy cousin was going to say was cut off when the strings and keys picked up again, catching the ballroom-turned-dining-hall off guard with a loud, booming orchestra. Hoshio froze.

"What's happeningー?!" she queried, for the music's volume had risen at such an alarming rate that it surprised her at first. However, this was nothing but sound, and it was not going to jump out and hurt her. The boy reached out this time to take Hoshio's arm.

"Maybe you'd want to wait a minute before you go," he said, and Hoshio narrowed her eyes.  _Again_ , someone was trying to keep her here! But the boy reasoned with: "They're bringing out the food now."

Then, prompting her body around, he pointed to the far side of the dining hall. It certainly was a show. A wide gap had yawned open from the wall, which definitely was not there before. And from it emerged a series of servants, full masks adorning their faces as they swirled into the room. They held silver dinner trays above their heads as they pranced, which were then planted at each table.

...But the thing that piqued Hoshio the most was not the visibly-opening aperture in the wall, nor the sudden appearance of servantsーrather, the  _smells_. That alluring fragrance that had been plaguing her nose since she first stepped into this building crashed into her with such strength that she was nearly knocked upside down. The scent had swollen up wide, and she knew, at that moment, what this smell was, and what the servants were carrying out to be devoured.

...Human blood!

They were  _murderers_ ーthe courses for tonight were pieces of man! Hoshio forgot for a moment that  _she_ was not any better than themーand instead felt a panic swell up within her. Her legs would not move from the place they were now. Her lungs were not breathing as they should, and her chest trembled and clenched and her heart had sunken down to the pit of her stomach. She'd never felt her limbs numb up as fast as they had then, and neither could she control how wide her eyes had become.

"Ohpー! Are you okay?!" The boy queried, this time very much concerned. He moved to help her stand, but Hoshio glared at him, hands gripping onto her own wrist. She was not going to believe for a moment that he was actually worried!

"Get away!" she hissed, but as the smells strengthened, she quickly changed her demand. "Get me— _out_ ," she sputtered. Her brows furrowed when she felt her knees buckle from beneath her, but she kept herself upright by shouldering the wall beside her.

She hated these smells! ...Because, they were  _irresistible_. She wanted more of it. She wanted to taste it. She had to wipe at her lips to smear away the saliva coming out of her; as terrified as she was, she still remained a vampireーand this blood was what she desired the most. It was disgusting how animalistic she had become! And she hated herself for it.

"N-nー" Desperately wiping at her mouth, Hoshio whimpered into the darkness, and eventually the boy took enough pity to help her out of the room. He wasn't supposed to, of course, as that had been the point; Kaeri let Hoshio go  _knowing_ she wouldn't be able to find her way out. Their plan was to occupy her at the party, after all, to keep her away from Rumi upstairsーbut this boy felt bad enough already. It was just not in his nature to defy the daughter of the Vampire King. Especially not when she driving herself mad!

Except, whenever he approached, Hoshio would thrash at him, and that successfully warded the respectful boy off. If he wanted to help her, he had no choice but to gather his wits. So he, taking a gentle hold on one of her arms, took the both of them to the third floor. No one seemed to notice. ...Well, that was besides Kaeri, who had been keeping a stern watch on the both of them; but the rest of the guests were preoccupied stuffing their faces with specialty dishes, and licking up the blood from their hands. Hoshio was relieved to get away from all that.

Her hysteria died down all in one instant once she appeared on the floor with the private rooms. The music faded below, and the voices soon silenced. The smell of death muffled behind the wall. Hoshio could breathe again.

"...I'm sorry," the boy gasped out. Now he could speak as he wanted to. The way he acted before was never his true intention, and he never wanted to see Hoshio so ballistic. He knew it was not his fault that Hoshio acted the way she did in the presence of bloodーbut it still was abnormal to him! "I'm sorry. Hoshio-sama, I didn't mean toー I mean, I tried to act like Kaeri wanted me to, but I felt so badーokay, I still feel bad, butー"

" _Enough_ ," she begged. She could barely comprehend her surroundings anymore. What was he saying? "I want to leave! Where's Reiji?"

"I'm sorry, Hoshio-samaーI really don't know. ...I don't know, I don't know why they left. But Rumi-sama is upstairs. Except, er..." He took a moment to pause. "I have to go now, sorry. Bye."

Hoshio leered down at the boy. He had the same face, same voice, but his manner of speech was much different than what he exhibited before. Whereas earlier he had spoken in colloquialisms, in a tone that made him sound rough, he now lowered himself into a child desperate for forgiveness.

He did not look much like Kaeri either. However, it was obvious that they were from the same family; the Shirodas simply had that distinct look about them. His hair was black and curled and swept down his head in short, messy coils, while his face was sharp and narrow and very white. He was blushing now, though, as this whole situation was embarrassing him. Perhaps that was what caused his sudden decision to abandon Hoshio up here; it was very abrupt. Embarrassment often does that to people, she knew that much.

But she would be lying if she said that she wasn't a bit disappointed. She did not want to face the Mukami brothers on her own again, let alone isolate herself from Kaeri. However she figured that they both needed a breather. Maybe Kaeri was acting weird because of the bloodlust, just as Hoshio was feeling hysterical because of it. Still, the boy cousin left without another word, and she was lost in the halls again. There was no way out.

Hoshio waited to let herself calm down. She let the silence soak in, and for a moment it was comfortable, but the stench of smoke quickly reminded her what she was here for. Rumi was here, too, as the boy had said. Hoshio decided she would not feel prejudiced against her. If she had chosen Souta to be her own betrothed, then perhaps he was not wholly indecent; and it was only right that she gave his mother a second chance, too. So she, taking a deep breath, advanced toward the source of the smoky odor.  
  
  


Rumi appeared before she got very far. Hoshio stopped when she saw her, the ghastly woman who was patting down her skirt and tucking a loose strand of blonde hair behind her ear. She had a small, satisfied smile on her face, but she too paused when she spotted the young woman before her.

"Oh my, Hoshio!" she cried, and immediately ran up to her. "You look frazzled, darling. Did something happen?"

Hoshio didn't hesitate. "Is there a fire?"

"Fire? Goodness, no! Has this odd stench been bothering you too?" Rumi's eyes were wide, a strange mix of surprise and relief plastered onto her already plasterlike face. She went on, "I tell you, that restaurant downstairs attracts the rudest customers! The waiters couldn't get one to leaveーso he threatened to burn them to a crisp! Those pyromaniacs carry  _horrid_ stenches with them."

Hoshio listened to Rumi's story, and she believed it. It didn't make much sense, but she believed it. "Well, I'd just like to speak with the Mukamis. Um..." Now she still felt a bit shy. "...Would you mind coming with me, maybe?"

Rumi grinned from ear-to-ear, her deep rouge lipstick stretching into a wide crescent smile. Though, if Hoshio had to be honest, the ghastly woman looked more like she had been  _expecting_ Hoshio to ask her to be her escort.

"Of course, darling! I used to take care of you when you were small; you could never do anything without me or your maid at your side! I'll lead the way." Rumi's comment did not make Hoshio feel any more confident in herselfーnor was she certain if it was even true or notーbut she pushed away her thoughts and instead followed close behind.

Rumi led her down the dark teal-papered hallways. The walls were dappled with small fleurs-de-lis, and there were decorative furniture pieces laid out between the doors and lights. Hoshio did not say a word the entire wayーbut she had a feeling they were going in the direction opposite of where the Mukamis were. Because with every step they took, the smoke smells were growing fainter and fainter.

Eventually Rumi stopped and swung open one door, but it was already obvious that no one was inside.

"Oh, dear. I could have sworn they were in here." And she shut it, then opened the one next to it.

"Not here either. Hm..."

When the fifth door proved empty, the ghastly woman gave up, and placed her hands on her hips. Her lips were pursed now. "Goodness, I suppose they've already left. Well! We should head back to the ballroom then, shall we?"

Hoshio felt especially suspicious at this point.

"...I'll check the other hallway," she declared. Rumi shook her head.

"No, no, there's no such thing as another hallway. It's just an illusion to confuse humans! You'll see, you won't find anything." Upon hearing this, Hoshio  _knew_ this was all a lie nowーand realized that she was beginning to contradict herself. She was trusting one liar to help her find other liars, who were acquainted with even more liars, who she was searching for. Why did she attract so many liars? At least that Shiroda boy was honestーhe had admitted to not being wholly truthful, as Kaeri had convinced him to lie. Or was that a lie, too...? Hoshio couldn't keep up!

Pulling herself out of Rumi's reach, she came to a silent conclusionーthere was  _no one_  here she could trust. She'd be better off keeping herself on edge this entire evening, because as things were, not a single demon here was genuine. Not even she was genuine! She had used that alias, Hanako, with Kaeriーalthough that was soon resolvedーand she had told Reiji that she thought Souta was better than him.

...Then again, maybe Souta  _was_. He was her betrothed, so he must have had some kind of redeemable qualities. Well, she thought this, for Hoshio was not yet fluid enough to remember that marriages oftentimes were arranged by parents. (Or, in this case, by liars who were keen at abusing her amnesia handicap.) But now, Hoshio actually considered itーshe figured that anyonewould be a better spouse than a blood relative!

So she sprinted off, and did not give Rumi a chance to catch up to her. She ran and ran until she found the hallway that she was looking for. It was definitely not an "illusion," and she was easily able to follow her nose. With every door she passed, that smoky odor inflated more and more, until finally it was blazing its strongest in front of a wooden, otherwise indistinguishable private room entrance.

There were noises coming from inside.

She could not make out what they were saying, but they were masculine, and the loudest was very recognizable.

 _Yuma_.

He roared out many things all at once, and Hoshio quickly realized that heat was radiating off the doorknob. Then everything registered within her. It was easy to tell what had happenedーthe charring smells and overheated door was proof enough. Inside, a fire was blazing all around the Mukami brothers, crawling up the walls and mercilessly eating the furniture. Since they hadn't made an escape yet, it was easy to assume that they were trapped inside.

Hoshio was not going to keep it that way. She didn't skip a beat in lunging for the brass knob, ignoring the touch that was a little too hot for comfort, and shook it as hard as she could. It would not budge.

"...Yuma-san!" she cried. There was quiet, and she could just imagine the four brothers inside pausing as they tried to figure out whose voice that had been. But then someone came barreling against the door, ramming hard against it. However the hinges stubbornly clasped onto the rest of their frame, and would not let go. The door rumbled again and again, and Hoshio panicked once she realized that they really  _were_ trapped inside.

But somehow, despite the heat scorching and reddening the knob, the door itself remained untouched; it was hot, but it was not burning. That was odd to herーshe'd assume wood would be the first to char away. But this did not matter. Now they could not rely on the door burning down, and they would have to unlock it or demolish it through other means.

" _Open the door, Shio!_ " Yuma bellowed from the other side.

"It's locked! Can you teleport away?!" Hoshio shouted back. Yuma didn't answer that last question, but he did muster a response to her first concern.

"The hell do ya mean, 'it's locked'?! The fuckin' lock is on your end!" Except, there was no lock on her end; the knob was completely smooth. There wasn't even a keyhole. Hoshio whipped her head around, desperately looking out for Rumi, as she should have caught up to her by now. But Rumi was nowhere in sight.

"Rumi-san!" she yelled. No one answered her. She heard a thick piece of material fall from inside the locked room, and several coughs ensued from the Mukami brothers. With that, Hoshio began wrenching at the doorknob even harder. She had witnessed enough death already! Even if she did not particularly like Yumaーshe was not going to  _abandon_ him and his brothers to die.

But the knob on her end had had enough of her wrestling with it, and it popped clean off the oak wood structure. Its bolts and spindle hung weakly, but there was not much Hoshio could do with a mere broken doorknob. She quickly discarded it on the ground, and then reached her hand near the metal slices of the other side's knob.  _Somehow_ , she'd get it to open.

However, as her fingers drew near, something strange happenedーfrom the aperture of broken devices, a bouquet of rose flowers suddenly blossomed up.

"...Ah!" Yelping, Hoshio jerked her hand back, before her brows furrowed. "Flowers...!?" But the minutes were ticking down right before her eyes; she had to ignore the odd things she was witnessing. The bangs and shouts that were coming mainly from Kou and Yuma were strenuating enough. So she yanked them out. With a bouquet of dirtied roses and roots in one hand, and a broken knob on the ground, she had no idea what to do! The brothers inside would burn!

"I'm sorry!" Hoshio heaved. "I don't know what to doーRumi-san!!" She screamed out for Rumi's assistance once more, but no one came to help. Her eyes, for the umpteenth time that evening, were brimming with tears, and she clenched the roses harder than ever. She shouldered the wall with all her might, and pushed and pounded and thrashed the bouquet against it, but it sat still. It was hot to touch, tooーshe couldn't keep her body pressed up against it for too long at a time.

" _Rumi-san!!_ " She tried again in vain. Swallowing, she spoke against the door. "I'm sorry I left you... I shouldn't haveー" Hoshio kept pounding even when her voice faded out, pushing with all her might. The hinges were not in sight, so she knew that the door opened inward, but it still would not budge. She wailed to herself as the guilt and fright rotted her from the inside. This was not a curse of bloodlust; this was not something she couldn't control. These four young men would die tonight because she could not figure out how to save themーand this time it was entirely on her.

"The fuck are you going on about?! We ain't gonna die here!" Yuma hissed back. "And stop callin' out for that Rumi bitchー _she's_  the ass who started all this."

Hoshio felt her body stiffen. "She  _what?_ "

She looked back down at the bouquet in her hands. She had had enough of being lied to! Her heart was shattering into pieces; as she had told herself, just moments ago, she knew she could trust no oneーbut she still  _did_ and in the end it came back to bite her. However, Hoshio had already made the firm decision not to let the Mukami brothers die under her watch, and she would not let her motivation flake away because of a silly door.

Placing her hands back on said door, Hoshio squeezed her eyes shut. She felt the wood beneath her fingertips, and the heat that pulsed and curled through her skin, and she thrusted her strength forward. For a moment, she felt coldーbut she focused on channeling everything she could into cranking open this door. From inside, Ruki spoke, his voice cool and collected. He spoke of the likely chance that they did not make it out tonight, but never once did he seem afraid.

Yuma barked at him to stop talking like that, but Ruki assured his brothers that their lives would not be wastedーand truthfully, the more he spoke, the more Hoshio's heart broke. She tried and tried so hard to free the four of them. It wouldn't be long before the flames ate their lives away. Time was key!

So she pushed at the open wheel where the knob used to be, and hoped and wished for something to happen, and then... she heard a snap. She wasn't sure how, exactly, but she had felt something ice over the palm of her hand when the door openedーso  _something_  clicked. But Hoshio was not nearly as concerned in regards to  _how_ she managed to do it than she was relieved that it had worked. Whatever she did though caused a sporadic fatigue to fall unto her, and the only way she could muster open the door was by collapsing onto it. There was no doorknob to clench, so she swung inward, eyes glossed from the smoke and tears.

Yuma was the first to exit. He scooped Hoshio into his arms as he darted out, for she was in the way; and filled her nose with a stronger sting of smoke. His brothers immediately plowed out after them. All four young men erupted into nasty fits of coughing and retching. Hoshio had the strength to go shut the door again, though the fire inside was still blazing bright. She had no idea what to do first. Grab water for the Mukamis? Alert a servant? Did they need immediate medical care?

...How long before the fire spread to the other rooms?

Hoshio's panic did not do any of the five of them any good. But, perhaps the worst threat appeared just moments after, signaled by a familiar ghastly voice.  
  
  


"Oh, my, that did not go as I had planned. Not at all."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oof I've never played through any of Ruki's routes bcuz tbh I don't really like him that much BUT hopefully his personality wasn't too off??? I really can't tell how he'd react in a situation like thisーbut I'd assume he'd be the mediator. Idk. In this case, probably. Maybe not if an s/o was involved or smth.
> 
> WELL NO CUZ THOSE GUYS ARE RLLY DEDICATED TO THE ADAM'S APPLE PROJECT AND KARL TOO
> 
> they wouldn't give up so easily
> 
> lol @ me contradicting my own fic oh well xD
> 
> I enjoyed this chapter but it took so long to write orz
> 
> WELP OK SEE YOU NEXT TIME!!


	23. Fleurs et Cendres

"Oh, my, that did not go as I had planned. Not at all."

 

Rumi's shrill voice rang out from one end of the hall, the amusement clear on her face as she stood in all of her glory. Hoshio did not know exactly how to react. This woman had the _audacity_ to show her face, even when they all knew that she was behind the fire! But there was not a single shred of shame on Rumi's face. She embraced her deeds wholeheartedly.

 

"Hoshio, sweetie, please come here. I don't want you to get any more smoke in your lungs." Rumi beckoned Hoshio toward her, but the amnesiac did not move. Instead, she narrowed her eyes, the purest of rage writhing through her face. She had had enough of Rumi Minose.

 

" _Then put the fire out, Rumi-san,_ " she hissed.

 

"Oh! Silly girl, that still wouldn't rid of the smoke," Rumi laughed. She rested her hands on her hips, basking in the fury Hoshio was sending her way. "And don't worry, darling. The fire can't leave that room. It's very much containedーnothing can escape the door! I've made definite sure of that." Her smile widened then, and she turned to the ash-dusted bodies belonging to the four Mukami brothers.

 

"Moreover, look at how grimy they've become. It's a disgrace to this gala! How embarrassing." Hoshio's cheeks flushed once she heard that, and the fumes grew from within her. That was a very similar comment to what Reiji had told _her_. But she wasn't given a chance to do much at allーfor the second that that last word had escaped Rumi's lips, Yuma sent a fist flying toward her face.

 

Hoshio only watched as Rumi's head was struck to the side, but that was not the end of it; Yuma's hands curled around the ghastly woman's neck, and she was pinned up against the wall. She never once faltered, however, and hung proudly, even while trapped beneath an infuriated demon.

 

"Give me one good reason not to bash your face in right now," Yuma snarled at her. She laughed.

 

"You see, darling?" Rumi spoke to Hoshio, and her voice was rather clear considering the tightening pressure around her neck. "This is precisely why I wanted to kill him. I just could not stand it when he thought to handle _you_ this way!" Then she flicked her piercing red eyes back to Yuma. "How entitled can you be, filth, raising your hand to a goddess? But go ahead and kill me, you brute. One day you will understand the difference between you and the noblesーand I assure you, this will not go without consequence."

 

The burns that scorched his skin and the smoke that gassed through his lungs did not impede Yuma's strength in the slightest; rather, it fueled it even more. And when Rumi gave the okay to kill her (however ironic it was), he would gladly oblige it. His hand turned, and his fingers clenched even harder, and for a moment a flash of surprise struck the ghastly woman's face. But then Hoshio stepped in, as she tended to grow weak at the sight of those kinds of emotions, and implored Yuma to release her.

 

"Let her go, Yuma-san," Hoshio coughed. Just standing beside him stung her lungs. "Don't—" she wiped at her nose. "Don't kill her."

 

"Hah?!" Yuma immediately snapped his head around to face her. His breath was strong, and his eyes were glowering, and Hoshio winced as foul wisps of smoke curled around her face. His hand remained tight around Rumi's neck. "Take a good fuckin' _look_ at what she did 'fore you go an' stick up for this bitch!" Hoshio's eyes flicked up to Yuma's face and arms, which were scorched and burnt bright cherry-red, and she wrinkled her nose. She wouldn't deny that Rumi had become some kind of villain to them, but taking a life was not something she'd allow if she could help it.

 

"Let her go," Hoshio repeated, sterner this time. Rumi smiled brightly, endeared.

 

"Thank you, sweetie. You've always been protective like that." But Hoshio did not accept the gratitude. She expected Rumi to apologize, or to lament her murderous intent, and when she didn't, the amnesiac felt her irritation swell up again. She just wanted Rumi to _leave!_  Not to seal her fate, never that far. That would be stripping Souta of his mother, and another of their aunt or cousin or sisterーand that mere Hunter's death was tantalizing for Hoshio enough. Still, she didn't know how she could make this come about. Yuma was not having either of them. As things were, he was going to batter Rumi to pieces.

 

She felt that coldness sweep across her palms again. The odd sensation stung through her skin, though numbed her all the same, and she couldn't quite tell what it was. But she brought her hands up and tucked her fingers beneath Yuma's choke hold, tugging until his grip loosened. That proved effective almost immediately. The mere contact with her skin had caused Yuma's burns to flare up again, and he retracted them within a second. With that, Rumi collapsed, her shaky fingers taking a gentle hold of her raw skin. She stole heavy gulps of air while she cradled her abused spot.

 

"Shit," Yuma cursed under his breath. For a moment, Rumi was forgotten, as Hoshio watched Yuma, and noticed that his wounds were still not healed. Of course, those two gashes in her own neck still were not completely gone either, but all the rest of her injuries had cleared away mere seconds after they were afflicted. So the fact that another vampire still retained his sears came as a bit odd to her. 

 

"Your burns aren't healing?" she murmured, motioning toward Yuma's arms. He scowled.

 

"Shut up, they're fine," he said. She felt the need to prod further, but withheld herself; and Rumi decided to bring the attention back to her. She let out a small chuckle, prompting the two younger vampires to turn their gazes.

 

"That boy can't heal like we do," she simpered. "He's _weak_ ーhe couldn't even break down a simple door!" Yuma grew indignant all over again, but this time he bent his knee; and swung with all his might an impact on Rumi's stomach. She keeled over with her hand pressed up against her mouth, and coughed out a few... were those _flower petals?_ But her smirk never once left her lips, and she continued to mock him even through the pain.

 

"See this? You give any human power and they'll ruin themselves! Karlheinz-sama wasted such a miraculous gift on these brutes. They think violence fixes everything!"

 

"Hah? This's comin' from the crazy bitch who locked us in a burnin' fucking  _room_?!" Yuma shouted, feeling offended. He hated the way she threw around Karlheinz's name like that, and even more so that she was still _breathing_. He could hardly contain himself from bashing her face in right there.

 

"And that vulgar tongue! Hoshio, sweetie, you'd best cut that out of him when you get the chance." Rumi was earnest with her suggestion, but Hoshio wished she'd keep her out of this. Luckily, Yuma had already readied a response... Except, when he opened his mouth to spew out all his anger, Ruki called from behind him.

 

"Yuma," he said, and the brother in question turned around almost immediately. That left Hoshio to stare at the fatigued Rumi, but she did not pity her in the slightest. She forced herself to step forward, and kneeled down before her. She already had a basic gist of why Rumi attempted to murder the Mukamisーbecause 'she hadn't liked the way Yuma had handled Hoshio'ーbut that couldn't have been the _only_ reason. Murder was a dangerous game, and the assassin had ought to have a better motive than that.

 

"Why did you try to kill them?" Hoshio asked. Her voice held nothing but a dour severity, which inspired a small, forced smile out of Rumi. From behind them, she heard Yuma mutter another colorful word to himself, but she did not turn around to see what was happening.

 

"Ex-human animals have no business at a noble's party," Rumi insisted. "It's embarrassing enough that I heard you were spotted in public with them, you poor thing. Please, Hoshio, stop talking to filth like them. You have me, and Souta, and Kaeri-sama, and your brothers too. You don't need them." It thoroughly astonished Hoshio how sincere Rumi was about this. She stared into the ghastly woman's bright red eyes, and then averted her gaze, growing uncomfortable.

 

She had a strong feeling inside her that Rumi was not someone she should be around. Well, earlier she had had equally powerful feelings that proved to be falseーsuch as how she thought she used to be human, and how she thought she had a sister; so whether or not this gut feeling could be trusted or not was dubious now. But she had finished smuggling the information she wanted out of Rumi, so after this she would part paths and hopefully never have to encounter her again. This time, she was certain this foreboding was trustworthy. She just had to finish the conversation.

 

"...They aren't bad people," Hoshio said about the Mukamis. But she quickly thought, she didn't know _what_ she was saying. No one was good here!

 

"Neither am I," Rumi insisted, before her gaze traveled down to the floor. She looked around Hoshio's skirt, and moved up to her fingernails, which were painted black, and then her eyes landed on the bouquet that Hoshio clenched in one hand. She stared at the flowers for a few silent moments.

 

"Heh, you were more aggressive than I thought," she commented finally. Her eyes flicked then to the broken doorknob. "Do you honestly care that much?"

 

Hoshio felt harassed again. Everyone she spoke to, she felt like they were disparaging her!

 

"I care about protecting innocent lives," she snarled out. That sounded much more heroic than she was going for. But she had no other powers up her sleeve, so the last thing Hoshio could do to Rumi was hurl the bouquet at her. The ghastly woman caught the roots and floras without much difficulty. A few petals fluttered off and arranged themselves on her lap, but Rumi held the bouquet close. These were very important to her.

 

Hoshio, on the other hand, had her opinion said and done, so she whirled around with nothing left to say to Rumi. She faced with the Mukami brothersーwell, three of themーbut their appearances were much less than orderly. Yuma maintained his usual fierceness, and had a serious, intimidating vibe about him. Kou was at his side with both brows pulled up in concern, arguing over something; Ruki was absent.

 

Azusa remained in the room, however his eyes were shut, and he was hung over Yuma's shoulder. Hoshio's body tensed up in surprise. He was unconscious! Azusa's injuries had gotten so bad that he had faintedーand really, she understood now, that their conditions were nothing they could just brush off. Not even if they were vampires! So she tried to advance towards them, held back only when she felt a body lunge onto her from behind.

 

"Hoshio, sweetie, don'tーdon't goー _don't go with them!_ " Rumi screeched. Her arms wrapped around Hoshio's abdomen. "Those brusque men know nothing! We can give you answers, darling! Your fiancé Souta knows you best; he will tell you all you want! About yourself, about Reiji, Karlheinz-sama, your motherー" Hoshio heard the desperation in Rumi's voice, and saw the pleas in her eyes, and felt indignant all over again. If her memory served right, in the beginning, Rumi had said that she would _offer_ Souta up to Karlheinz to be a prospective husband; they were not already engaged! There was no second chance with this person, Hoshio realized. Everything had been a lie.

 

The ice in her hands grew especially strong in that moment. For a small while, her entire body felt like steel, and she raised a hand to strike Rumi across the face. The shrill echo of the slap reverberated throughout the room. It left Rumi paralyzed. ...She really thought she had it. But Hoshio slipped from her fingers, signaling her resistance with a physical counter.

 

"Leave me _alone_ ," Hoshio bellowed. Rumi's heart shattered at the dangerous vibes emitting from her masked form. But Hoshio was done playing nice. "By far, you're the first whose life I wouldn't mind taking." The entirety of the amnesiac's being thenーher voice, her position above Rumi, and the sheer expression on her face was enough to send the ghastly woman weeping. But she held herself up, and still clung to Hoshio, and even mustered the strength to haul herself closer to the girl's neck.

 

" _Your blood,_ " Rumi begged. "If you're done playing nice, then I am tooーjust a little bite, pleaseー" She brushed aside a few curls of mahogany, drawing her lips up along Hoshio's skin. Hoshio froze at the contact, at the lust and lunacy that had completely devoured Rumi's sane front. This would be the fifth assault that Hoshio dealt with that night, the fourth that she will survive, and she was driven to the absolute brink. Rumi held no sign of awareness as she tried and tried again for a taste of Hoshio's bloodーand Hoshio had had _enough_.

 

Jerking herself out of Rumi's hold, she turned back for a quick moment to see where the Mukami brothers wereーand saw that they had already made their way halfway down the hall. Hoshio felt especially irritated knowing that they had no qualms about leaving her to fend for herself, but she quickly forgave them once she remembered they had a more important matter at hand. Rumi, however, did not give her much time to think; the minute she lost her hold on Hoshio's body, she came clawing back again. She had driven herself positively insane.

 

Hoshio had no clue how to physically ward someone off, so she opted to another optionーone that she could only hope was reliable. She swept over to one side of the hall, and threw herself against the door of the burning room. With all of her strength, she pushed against it, and realized that the frost feeling in her palms was some sort of power of hers. Whatever it was, it aided her in cranking open the broken lock. Rumi immediately ran after her. She grew horrified when she saw the sparks rumbling and twinkling out into the hall, anxious for Hoshio's safety. Aside from the threshold, there was not a single space inside free from flame!

 

Howeverーshe didn't seem to have caught on to what Hoshio was planning. She was consumed wholly with fright.

 

"Get away from there, darling! You'll _burn_!" The ghastly woman swung a protective arm across Hoshio's shoulders, shielding her from the flames. Hoshio might have been tired of being touched all the time, but this interaction might have actually worked in her favor. So she began.

 

"Burn in your own damn fire," Hoshio hissed. With that, she thrusted Rumi into the room, and immediately slammed the door shut. Not even a second passed before the ghastly woman came barreling at the wooden structure, begging to be let out, but she never once shrieked in pain. The fact that that room was set ablaze was of no concern to her; she was more worried that Hoshio was escaping without her. The amnesiac felt sour at thatーshe could not even fathom Rumi's true feelings for her. What was this? Obsession? She rested her hands on the heated wood, and listened to Rumi's pounds and cries, and then sighed. It was over now—Rumi would bother them no longer.

 

Well...

 

The guilt came crashing onto her moments later. When there was silence, when the only thing she could hear from inside was the crackles of fire slowly eating everything inside, her heart began to sink. Just a few minutes ago, she had forced Yuma not to kill Rumiーand here she was doing exactly what he would have done! She looked back to the Mukami brothers, and they, from the other side of the hall, were looking back at her. She froze.

 

"Shio," Yuma called, sounding sharp, "yー"

 

"No, no, no!" Hoshio murmured, and spun back to the door. She tried to summon that cold numbness in her hands, but she wasn't sure how to make it come about, and kept fumbling with the broken knob. She had to go back in there and save Rumi.

 

"Shio! Stop!"

 

But she continued to fight the broken doorknob, pausing only to shake the light burns from her hands, and coughed and breathed ash and felt a horrible remorse. From the other side, Rumi's voice rose up again in wails, sobbing about how much she needed Hoshio, but this time the girl would accept it. An obsession wasn't worth a death! Eventually that coldness came piercing back to her hands again, and she was overjoyed to realize that there actually was a chance for Rumi's survival.

 

However just as she was beginning to successfully crank open the door, Yuma called out, "Kou!" A vague sliver of panic had woven in with his tone, but Kou was not in danger; rather, it was meant to signal him to go stop Hoshio. And Kou obliged. Within moments he was standing behind her, his own hand clenching the doorknob spindle, keeping the door shut and locked from Rumi's end.

 

" _Kou-san!_ " Hoshio shrieked despairingly. She fought his hands, but his hold on the door spindle was firm.

 

"We have to go, Hoshirin," he urged. Hoshio felt the frost fade from her hands, though she did not ask it to; and felt indignant that she could not control her own power. There was no hope nowーwith one person hindering her actions and her lack of that icy power which somehow fueled her strength, Rumi's life was probably gone by now. She squeezed her eyes shut then, and released her hold on Kou, and gave in.

 

...Maybe this was the way it had to be?

 

Rumi was toxic to this world. Enough so to cost her her life, at least. Right? Hoshio tried to find solace in _something_ ーand then thought, yes, this was the way it had to be. She wasn't wrong to abandon Rumi. So she stilled, and brought her hands down, and allowed Kou steer her away. She stumbled to walk as they left to the end of the hall, trying desperately to keep herself in check. Kou was exhausted too; but he kept going. They could not stop.

 

Rumi remained locked in that room, which was slowly filling her lungs with ash, but her life remained perfectly intact. These were her flames after allーthey would not hurt her. She clenched her bouquet closer, and murmured to herself, and was wailing. This would not do, not at all. Her life was nowhere near any sort of risk, but Hoshio did not know that; as things were, Hoshio had betrayed her. Left her to die. Rumi was heartbroken.

 

She fingered the thorny stems, and twitched and wished and sighed, and then in one swift motion shot her arm out. The flames vanished at her command. All that was left were the peeling walls, and debris scattered across the floor, and a tormented Rumi. She coughed to herself. A few more lilac petals fluttered down from her lips, melding with the bouquet in her hands, and then she hurled the whole ensemble against the ground. It shriveled up upon contact with the wood below.

 

This would not do.

 

This would not do.

 

First it was Karlheinz who had chosen themーthose four Mukami brothers. And now his daughter was running after them as well. She had thought she had a firm handle on Hoshio's amnesia. She was so certain things would end in her and Kaeri's favor; she even had the Shiroda family agree on fabricating an engagement between her and Souta. But Hoshio slipped through her fingers just like that. This would not do!

 

Now that Hoshio had escaped with the Mukami brothersーchances were she would never return to Kaeri nor Rumi. But this, she would not allow. She would pursue them when she could.

 

"...I'll find you soon, darling..." she murmured, and then sunk to her knees. There really was no way to escape the room once it was locked. Not even for Rumi, who had started the fire herself. "Until then..."

 

She supposed she would have to wait for Souta to come find her.


	24. À Maintes Reprises

"I think," Hoshio started, voice shaky. Her eyes were stinging, and her breath was short, but she felt the need to offer a suggestion up anyway. "I think I saw a small doctor's clinic in town." Hoshio had not been exposed to the fires nearly as much as Kou and Yuma and Azusa had been, but she still felt miserable inside and out. Perhaps even more awful than they were.

"We ain't goin' to a hospital," Yuma responded. He adjusted his hold on Azusa, while Hoshio watched them from the corner of her eye. She noticed that he was not much gentler with his own unconscious brother than he had been with her—which led her to believe that, maybe, his earlier roughness was entirely unintentional. Perhaps he underestimated his own strength, and had no clue just how domineering he was.

...That was kind of scary, Hoshio thought. At least she was not Yuma's concern for the moment—though she wondered if Azusa's injuries would be alright in the care of such a rough person. But Azusa was not awake, and did not have the breath to waste complaining about the ferocity in his brother's manner of holding him. And Yuma knew—he  _was_  aware of how rough he was, whether that be by physical or verbal communication. He loved every bit of his control.

Hoshio thought back to the doctor's clinic, as she was not so accepting of Yuma's refusal to go. True, these three were vampires, and because of that they boasted inhuman regenerative abilities—however these burns seemed much too serious to go untreated. As the only one whose fatigue was not eating her down, Hoshio thought she should help them as much as she could. What did it matter that she wasn't particularly fond of Yuma? The situation changed once he was subjected to a passionate fire blaze.

"I can hold Azusa-san," so she decided. "Hand him here."

She didn't know if she even had that kind of strength (or if she had any strength at all left in her, for that matter). But she truly did feel like Azusa's weight was taking its toll on Yuma's body. His physique was very sturdy, and well-built, however he could only handle so much when exhausted. It just wasn't fair for him to have to carry another person while his own health was in decline. And so Hoshio offered to (quite literally) take the load off his back.

But there was only silence that ensued, and then two snorts from Azusa's two conscious brothers.

"Yeah? With what strength?" Yuma sneered. His voice was rasped and would not crisp no matter how many times he cleared his throat, which somehow hardened the blow of his words even more. Hoshio felt encouraged nonetheless.

"I don't mean to be rude, Hoshirin, but you're tiny!" Kou sounded much better than his tallest brother, but spoke with an obvious exhaustion all the same; and only by him did Hoshio's confidence stagger—she didn't have the heart to snipe back at him.

...She did, however, still feel inspired to bluff up her capabilities to Yuma.

"Oh, please, I'm a pureblood," she insisted, not even knowing if being a pureblood meant anything. "I'm taller than Azusa-san, and he looks much lighter than me anyway! Come, give him to me." She beckoned Yuma with her hand, expecting to hold Azusa just as he was: over her shoulder. But the third Mukami son was not even looking at her. He wiped his free hand across his ash-dusted face, and kept on walking, with Kou at his side and Hoshio looking for attention.

Something he had soon come to learn within these past hours was that Hoshio Sakamaki was equally as stubborn as her feelings were docile, and he was not having her right now. He simply didn't have the energy to entertain that kind of persona. Of course, he'd love nothing more than to lift this weight off his shoulders and collapse to sleep; however Azusa was important to him. And he wouldn't entrust his youngest brother to Hoshio. Azusa was several centimeters taller than her, contrary to what she might have thought, and Yuma knew it would just be an awkward mess if he allowed it.

So he said it so, without once looking at her: "Lay off, Shio. Not tonight." His voice was soft—well, as soft as his rasp and naturally-booming voice would enable him—and that sort of tone, especially when coming from such a move-now, think-later type of person, sparked a bit of embarrassment from the girl behind him. She opted to make faces at the back of his shirt. Of course, that was only until she looked up and noticed that Kou was watching her every move, and then she crinkled her nose to hide her even deeper embarrassment.

"Then we'll go to the doctor's," she insisted. She was certain there must have been some truth to Rumi's earlier words, when she had talked about the difference in healing between purebloods and halfbloods. All three boys' bodies were proof of that. Their burns and scorches were mending themselves gradually, but they still were very vibrant—and Hoshio was concerned. "You're not a pureblood, so you shouldn't gamble like one—"

"Shit, like we didn't know that already," Yuma rolled his eyes. "We're fine."

"If you  _were_  fine, then Azusa-san would be standing upright, and none of you would be so burnt up."

"Ya know what?" At this, Yuma turned around, and his lips were downturned in a nasty grimace. Hoshio braved up immediately, hardening her face into a determined glare. She realized now that her entire existence thus far had been doing nothing but taunting those around her, and she understood this well once she noticed how displeased Yuma looked. And whenever Yuma got mad, he made sure everyone could see it. One arm rose up, and for a moment Hoshio believed she'd be struck; but he shoved his hand against her shoulder, forcing her to stumble backward. She rammed into Kou's chest, who blocked her from going back further. And then the blonde idol placed both hands on either one of her shoulders. She was secured between the two of them.

"Hehe~ You really got him mad," Kou whispered down at her. Hoshio pursed her lips.

"Well, he has no right to be," she said back. She was offering as much hospitality as she could; he was in the wrong to reject it like that.

"You've gotta start mindin' your own damn business, arrogant fuckin' pureblood." Hoshio stood her ground, keeping her brows furrowed in slits. Yuma continued: "This ain't your family, so keep yer mouth shut an' do as I say."

Only at that did the young woman stumble, and she slunk further back along Kou's chest. But fortunately he was the only one to notice her discomfort and did not comment on it. Instead, his hold on her shoulders tightened, and his smile twitched wider. Hoshio felt bothered. She tried shrugging him off of her, which worked to no avail. Her last remaining strength were her words, and those she used to the best of her ability.

"In case you've forgotten," she said, keeping her voice smooth, " _I'm_  the one who broke you out of that fire—so yes, this is very much my business." Taking the credit for that definitely boosted her morale up. She was proud to be able to claim something meritable—something that actually gave her worth. But neither Yuma nor Kou were any grateful for that, and shrugged that off without so much as a simple 'thank you'. Well, Kou was the only one who touched on that, but his words were less than appreciative; he snaked both arms around Hoshio's shoulders, and rested his chin near her collarbone. He reeked of smoke.

"How cute~ Are you expecting compensation for that~?" He asked, and he was earnest about it, but his voice was far too sugary to sound true. Hoshio didn't understand.

"... _Compensation?_ " She queried, very confused. "...If anything, this was already compensation, for when you two took care of my... um,  _leftovers_." That was the only word that came to mind, and she hated herself for it; but even minutes after she had said that, she couldn't think of a better one. Kou giggled at it. Perhaps he might have held a mild respect for Hoshio Sakamaki once before—at least, as much respect as a selfish soul like him was capable of holding—but she was broken now. She was vulnerable. And every little piece of her was open for outsiders to do as they pleased with her. Not a single person she had faith in was actually trustworthy—and Kou and Yuma were no exception.

So Kou leaned in closer, his handsome face brushing up against her neck. He insisted on repaying her, though the way he spoke made her feel dubious, and she wasn't quite sure what to expect from him. By now, his lips were hardly hovering above her neck.

"It's not much, just give me what I want..." he coerced, and it was then that Hoshio fully comprehended the position of his lips, and the meaning of his words. He wanted blood.

But Yuma shoved him off before he went any further.

"Stop screwin' around," he growled, and turned around again. "We're leavin' now. Shio, you'll go back to that Shiroda chick, got it? We'll handle ourselves."

"...Kaeri-san?" Hoshio said quietly, considering it.

"Eh~? She could stay with us," Kou insisted. He let a comfortable distance come between him and the young woman now. "We're just going back to the hotel."

Hoshio hesitated. No, no, she most certainly did not want to subject herself to a shared hotel room between the four Mukami brothers. True, she was worried for Yuma and Kou, and especially for Azusa, but not so much that she would follow them to a private quarter; and true, Kaeri had shown a rather...  _questionable_ side of herself earlier. However, out of everyone Hoshio had met thus far, Kaeri seemed to be the only one who actually respected her. Even if the Mukami brothers were the only ones available to her who knew anything about this mysterious Yui, Kaeri was still the safest. So she took it.

"...I'll go with Kaeri-san," she agreed.

"Aw, really?" Kou returned his arms around Hoshio, snuggling close up against her. "Well, we'll see ya later then, 'kay?" He kept his hold on her, and it wasn't until the three of them vanished back down to the lobby that he let go. Hoshio was thankful that they hadn't simply abandoned her up there—she still had no clue how to teleport herself (which was odd, as she thought that would be something instinctual), and wouldn't have been able to leave should they not have aided her.

There were noticeably less staff workers downstairs. The plain waitress Chie remained there, as did her male counterpart, and they were the only two there, chatting at the hostess podium. Chie turned her head upon spotting the four guests appear from upstairs.

"Ah, there you are," she noted, and stepped towards them. "Your brother's waiting in the limousine outside."

"What was Ruki-san doing?" Hoshio asked, to anyone who was willing to answer her.

"He just came to alert us about Rumi-sama," Chie explained. "He was a bit in a hurry, though, and I don't blame him, having burn scars like that—I'd advise you guys to get to him quickly."

And they did. Yuma did not even bother acknowledging Hoshio again, but Kou gave her a quick goodbye, and then they disappeared outside with Azusa still asleep. Their car was situated fairly close to the restaurant building, but once they stepped out into the ice-autumn air Kou released a much-needed sigh. Yuma said nothing. With that, their night had come to a conclusion—and they were glad for it, too. They had gotten what they came here for. Karlheinz never made an appearance, and Yui Komori hadn't been in attendance either, but they had attained the one other thing they had come here for. And with it, they were satisfied.

Ruki greeted them with a half-hearted grunt, but no one blamed him. Not a single one of them uttered a word throughout the duration of the ride, as they were all busy recuperating. They could handle themselves, they knew, and knew enough about healing to not visit a doctor. Leaving Hoshio behind meant nothing to them at the current moment.

And she stood still back in the lobby, her gaze locked on the glass doors from which the Mukamis had left from. However abrupt their exit might have been, Hoshio understood. They truly did have an emergency they needed to tend to, and she felt embarrassed again for her earlier attempts at meddling with them. As an amnesiac, she knew little—she thought she was helping, but she realized they probably knew how to take care of themselves so much better than she did.

...At least, she was free now. There were no Mukami brothers here to push her around. There were no Sakamakis anymore. And Rumi, hopefully, was being taken care of; Hoshio was left to her own devices. She turned her body around with slow, gentle steps, and glanced over all of the restaurant interior before landing her gaze on Chie and the boy servant. They were standing with their arms burrowed, looks of vacant concern in both of their faces. Hoshio felt shy all of a sudden.

"Rumi-san..." She murmured. "It's all my fault, I'm sorry. I wish I could've handled it differently, but I ruined it— _I'm sorry_." She felt the guilt rippling through her, rotting her from the inside and out, but no matter how awful she felt she would not shed a tear this time. Chie offered a comforting, knowing smile.

"Rumi-sama isn't dead, you know," she revealed. "Her son is taking her home. She attempted to murder four of Jakurai-sama's dear guests, and so she is no longer welcome here—it's not your fault." Hoshio paused at that. _How?!_

Although she wasn't so much concerned with how Rumi had managed survive than she was relieved, and felt that long-awaited feeling of upliftment ricochet up her spine. But she would not express that to Chie, and kept her face still, feeling in silence. This  _really_ was her chance now. There was no one in her way. Chie would let her go, as a plain waitress could do nothing to someone classed as high as Hoshio; and she doubted either the Mukami or Sakamaki families would decide to drop by again out of the blue. She knew that Yuma's family had an emergency—Hoshio witnessed that entire scenario herself, and Reiji's family must have had something come up as well. They collectively left all of a sudden, without any sort of notice at all, so there must have been  _something_. But this surely placed the odds in Hoshio's favor.

And her first thought was to run.

"...Thank you, Chie-san," she said, inching toward the door. "But I should get going as well. Tonight was very fun, my regards to Jakurai-sama. I'll take my leave now, though."

 _Not at all much fun, not really..!_  She thought despairingly. She was still horribly confused—so much more than before. What was even the  _point_ of this soirée? At least, up until the guests began to dine, things were somewhat decent, but the entire time she still felt like she was tiptoeing across a minefield!

"Ah, really? Where are you going?"

...Though, that voice did not belong to the plain waitress Chie.

Kaeri Shiroda was standing in between Hoshio and the door, planted very firmly, and had a small smile on her face. Though she didn't seem to be trying anything, Hoshio still had an unsettling feeling that Kaeri was deliberately trying to block the exit from her. ...But that would be silly—Kaeri was Kaeri, and Kaeri was supposed to be an ally.

"Ah, Kaeri-sama!" Chie squeaked. She exchanged a look with the boy servant, before sighing. "I suppose you're here about Rumi-sama——"

"I came here for Hoshio-sama, actually," Kaeri cut in, taking steps and steps again closer to the woman in question. "...Nobles like us must stick together, right? You two should just do your job and leave it to us to take care of each other. Do you understand me?" She spoke so sternly. 

Chie opened her mouth to refute that, but could only shut it again, and lowered her head in acknowledgement. Her partner repeated the gesture, and before long the both of them were kneeling before Kaeri. It was only when she smiled in satisfaction did this exchange dawn on Hoshio, and she was repulsed by it. Forcing them to kneel! Upper class or not, she thought it unacceptable for anyone to feel this entitled!

"Stand up, both of you," she ordered. Kaeri said nothing to stop her, and both servants obliged Hoshio. They kept their heads down however, as if they were awaiting something else on Hoshio's part—but she couldn't quite place what it was. Surely not... a punishment? Well, ever since Kaeri appeared, her chances at fleeing were spoiled, but perhaps she could rewire her initial escape plan by going under the ruse of 'punishing' two servants.

"Thank you for coming here, Kaeri-san," Hoshio said. "But if you wouldn't mind, I'll deal with these two myself."

"Aha~ Why waste your time? Come, let's return to the ballroom." Kaeri beckoned Hoshio close, but she stood her ground. Not again. She never wanted to set foot in that room again. She watched the Shiroda girl's expressions carefully as she refused, looking for any sort of glints or piques. But there was nothing. Instead, Kaeri rolled her head back, and looked up at the ceiling, and Hoshio followed her line of vision; when she brought her gaze back down to level again, Kaeri was directly in front of her.

Hoshio's hands were bound tightly in the other girl's grasp.

"K-Kaeri-san..?" And of course she had to stutter! She dreaded stuttering—every time she did, she felt ridiculously delicate. But now Hoshio was distraught. She'd made Kaeri angry, and so perhaps this was her own fault. But she didn't know how to ward her off. She didn't know how to ward  _anyone_  off! ...Without taking their lives? No, no, she would never harm Kaeri.

So she made no moves to resist as Kaeri brought Hoshio's body closer, and pressed her head into the crook of her neck, and the amnesiac was bewildered. An angry embrace was an odd thing to do—what was this for? Kaeri looked back up at the ceiling again, and scanned the walls, and although Hoshio could not see Chie or the boy servant she could hear them rustling about from behind her.

"...I'm sorr—" Hoshio whispered.

"I'm not mad at you," Kaeri insisted quietly, and her grip grew tighter. Hoshio squeezed her eyes shut. If she had to be honest, she was a bit scared. This behavior was unusual from Kaeri. She didn't know what to expect.

"Then what's happening..?"

...What was in the ceiling?

Then all at once, bullet shots began to fire from all around them. Hoshio's immediate instinct, upon hearing the sounds, was to burst free of Kaeri's hold. She thrashed about as she caught bits of red and orange whip around the room, but there was no breaking free from Kaeri Shiroda. Hoshio tried and tried again regardless, and wished so desperately that she knew how to teleport; she'd be out of there in an instant if she could! However, with Kaeri holding her still, not a single bullet so much as grazed either of them. She didn't think much of that in the moment, but it truly was miraculous considering how chaotic each bullet was, how chaotic their thunders sounded as they trilled through the restaurant.

...But she did not notice that. She wanted  _out_. They were under attack, that much was clear; she did not have the mindset to consider why they were standing still in a room bombarded with bullets. However, Kaeri still would not let go. So she opted to bury her face further into her shoulder, all of her nerves on edge; all she could do was hope and wish that this would end with their lives all right.

...And then, once it came to a cease, she warily peeked up at Kaeri. Shiroda was glowering at something, face stern and stiff and her senses were high on alert. Hoshio's vision trailed to their surroundings, and she froze.

Really, now, all she wanted was to  _escape_. And now she was wound up in this mess.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> //hoshio during that bullet scene was inspired by how my cat reacts when i'm holding her and someone turns the vacuum cleaner on
> 
> //lol anyway
> 
> hiii it's been a long while ♡ 
> 
> going 3 weeks without writing was bound to inspire some sort of ideas, so i've got some hopefully-exciting next couple of chapters waiting!! stay tuned~!!
> 
> UNTIL NEXT TIME!!
> 
> -mito♡


	25. L'Ultimatum

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi♡ please endure just one more oc-centric chapter, and we'll bring back the diahoes (a new one!) next time!! thank u for your patience~!

****Hoshio met with the determined expressions of at least a dozen Hunters, who had arranged themselves so that they surrounded the four vampires in the room. Chie and the boy servant stood in protective stances; their mouths shut, bodies alert, and feet ready to spring. Although they seemed to be guarding the two higher-ups behind them, Hoshio wondered if they really meant it—Kaeri was not the kindest to them, and neither had Hoshio acted so gracious; of course, on her part, she had spoken haughtily only in hopes of lulling Kaeri away.

But that didn't work, as they were afterwards interrupted with  _this_.

And Hoshio's heart sunk at the sight of so many Hunters. She knew that they had to be; they wore the same gear and straps that her victim had been wearing—and she  _knew_ her victim must have been the reason why they were here. She let out a soft, wary sigh. So long as she stayed near Kaeri, she supposed she'd be alright. Hopefully? She hated relying on others, she hated being the submissive one, but she was powerless in her current situation. She couldn't control her strengths in the slightest.

"They're good," she heard one of the Hunters whisper. Her eyes flicked toward the figure of a young man, who was well-built and muscular, and whose leathery skin was battered with grime and grazes. Hoshio's ears were on alert, and she realized she could pick up anything in the room, no matter how subtle. She heard every swallow and sniff and rustle from the Hunters around her, and she was bothered by it.

The room became still for a moment. Both sides were waiting for the other to attack first, although it worried Hoshio to know how horribly outnumbered her own side was. And then Chie spoke up to her counterpart, with a confident flair that no one would expect from a plain scattered waitress.

"Our first priority are the guests. Ensure that Kaeri-sama and Hoshio-sama are safely returned to the ballroom," she instructed. The boy nodded, and slowly approached the two women behind him, keeping eye contact with the ensemble of Hunters the entire time. They did nothing but watch. Well, that same Hunter who had commented earlier turned once more to the person beside him, and whispered again.

"Dude, one of them's the princess," he said about Hoshio. His comrade elbowed him in the gut and hissed at him to keep quiet, and the others were trying to keep their eyerolls to a minimum. Hoshio was bewildered. That boy was not very good at holding his tongue! He reminded her of herself, in a way. Except, while she was held in high regard by most of the peers she had met thus far, that boy seemed to be the runt of the litter. However he was unfazed by his comrades' disapproving stares. And he remained that way even when Chie began to speak, this time addressing the Hunters crowd.

"If you're ready to speak with your words now," she started, lacing her sweet voice with an unexpected sarcasm, "I'd appreciate it if you told us why you're here." As she spoke, the boy servant grabbed onto both Kaeri and Hoshio's arms, murmuring a quick apology for his brashness.

One Hunter, a man, stepped forward. He was visibly aged and boasted an abundance of battle scars etched into every visible patch of his skin. He appeared to be the leader of this group.

"We're here to eliminate those involved in an illegal gathering of demon tribes," he declared. "An investigation on behalf of the numerous missing persons reports we've received around the area. And also..." His gaze trailed to each of the four vampires in the room, piercing his weighted brown eyes into their skulls. "...To find the one responsible for the death of my son."

Hoshio heard this, and felt her chest sink in. She knew it was her. It  _had_ to be her. It was karma—she knew that killing that one Hunter would one day come back to bite her, but a mere few hours seemed to be all it took for his comrades to seek her out. She felt a panic swell up within her, and at this point that feeling of hopelessness was very familiar. ...Not to say she was welcoming it, however. She turned to Kaeri with a look of sheer terror in her eyes.

"Let's go back to the ballroom, Hoshio-sama," Kaeri said, recognizing her unease. "Come on." And she, too, grasped onto Hoshio's other arm.

There was another familiar feeling that swept across the amnesiac then. She had felt this when Reiji had brought her down from upstairs, and when that Shiroda boy had brought her _back_ upstairs, and every other time her body had undergone the tingling mysteria that came with teleportation. This time, however, this feeling did not cause her to disappear, and she was not brought back to the safety of the ballroom below. You'd think that she wanted to escape—for once it was found out that she was the one behind that Hunter's death, she would endure the wrath of a grieving father and his army of murder machines.

But she would not. Her body remained still, rejecting every effort that Kaeri and the boy servant put forth to bring them to safety. She didn't know  _why_ , but she did understand that she possessed a power that could drown the very air around them. It was only a matter of controlling it. And at this point in time, that power was defensive, preventing any sort of foreign energy from breaking through to Hoshio. Well, she  _thought_  she wanted nothing more but to leave. She knew she wanted the safety of down below. However she also supposed her body knew what it wanted most—after all, her power had manifested itself when she was parched, when she needed to unlock the predatory instinct inside her to dominate her prey; and when the lives of those she wanted answers from were at risk. It was how she devoured every last bit of resistance her victim had left in him, despite him being trained specifically to hunt creatures like her. How she broke down a door locked by spellwork with her bare hands.

This power rivalled her brothers and other nobles like Kaeri at a fair range, but completely overwhelmed common servant boys. And when such a strength swept over her entirety like it did, an attempt at a force-removal from the lobby proved wholly futile. She couldn't even respond to Kaeri and the waiter, and remained completely awestruck watching the engagement between Chie and the lead Hunter.

"...Hoshio-sama?" Queried the boy servant.

"Please, this is dangerous. Let's go," Kaeri urged.

But Hoshio would not.

Chie continued speaking.

"You dumbasses are meddling with the nobles of the Demon Realm. Who sent you?" She had heightened herself up considerably, giving off menacing vibes with every word that dripped off her tongue. Meanwhile, Hoshio couldn't understand why she was frozen in place, and the two vampires beside her couldn't figure out how to move her. She had become stone! Neither Kaeri nor the servant boy boasted much brute strength, but not even with the natural power of noble Shiroda blood could they lift Hoshio out.

"We are here to eliminate those involved," the lead Hunter repeated. "Beginning with you. However," as he paused, two Hunters approached the other three vampires. Because of Hoshio's unwillingness to move, Kaeri and the servant boy had to remain planted there as well. They both rose their hands to ward the two Hunters off, but the humans were slicker and in the blink of an eye they had restrained the two protectors.

Hoshio snapped out of her stupor the second her two companions were ripped off of her, and immediately jumped to assist them. Of course, she ran to Kaeri's aid first, but was easily stopped once one of the Hunters drew a longsword from her sheath. She pointed the blade straight at Hoshio's throat, and Hoshio froze up again. She turned to the servant boy, but felt that if she tried to approach him, the same threat from his captors would only halt her again.

"Oi...!" Kaeri hissed. Without Hoshio's assistance, she tried tugging her arms free herself, but any chances of her escape were promptly crushed when a pair of handcuffs were clapped over her wrists—the same happened with the servant boy. She continued to thrash through those as well, but within an instant any sort of movement came to a still. Her face twisted up into a pained grimace.

"Anti-vampire cuffs," one Hunter explained. "These will be our hostages."

It dawned on Hoshio after that, that the situation she was trapped in relied mostly on her for its success. Chie was keeping still to ensure that none of the other Hunters attempted a surprise attack, which left Hoshio the only unbound one. She wasn't entirely sure why they spared her the handcuffs (perhaps they only had two pairs), but it still was a fact that this was all up to her. She felt a rush of adrenaline kick through her veins. ...Another two lives in danger. She was the protector, and she had to succeed one last time. Hopefully, the last for the night.

"...So you've got two hostages," she spoke up, smoothly. "What do you want us to do?"

"Don't you even  _dare_  try to listen to them, Hoshio-sama," Kaeri quickly intervened. "These guys are stronger than ordinary Hunters. I don't want you to save us. Do you hear me? Go back to the ballroom, and stay there! You can inform the servants, but I swear if I see you come back up here——" As she spoke, the Hunter who had threatened Hoshio shifted her sword so that it instead aimed at Kaeri. Kaeri came to silence herself. The so-called Sakamaki princess didn't respond to her, as she wasn't sure how to explain that she  _couldn't_  get back down to the ballroom.

One of the guarding Hunters did grow concerned, however, after Kaeri had spoken.

"...'Hoshio-sama'..? Wait——" His voice dripped away as he looked to their leader, who let out a heavy, irritated sigh. The Hunters were not so familiar with the facial appearances of vampire nobility, much less vampire royalty, and had assumed they had restrained Hoshio and the servant based solely on the auras they gave off. For Kaeri's was mighty, a powerful, certain, and dignified type of air which surely had to belong to a prospective leader of the vampire clan... At least, that was in comparison to Hoshio—who was a mess of many different feelings rolled into one. She was not grounded.

The Hunters hadn't meant to seize  _Kaeri_. Hoshio would have been a far more useful hostage; not a single vampire in their right mind would dare defy the daughter of the Vampire King—at least, that's what the Hunters thought. And they were only half-wrong—if the Mukamis and the other Sakamakis counted as exceptions.

"Whatever—it works out all the same," the lead Hunter decided. "Proceed as planned."

So the Hunters obliged that command without a second thought. Hoshio had no idea what their plans were, but that soon came to light. For in the seconds that followed, the only thing that filled Hoshio's ears was the high, paralyzing ring of a fired bullet; it felt like it was rattling her own skull. She thought she would experience more chaos of bouncing shells and charging firearms—but there was only one, one shot, and then she saw the red drizzle out of the servant boy's forehead. Soon after, his body collapsed forward. Hoshio compulsively shot her arms out to catch him. The hard of his teeth knocked against her shoulder as his weight caved into her embrace, and then they were still.

Hoshio's fingers began to tremble. But that was the only movement coming from her; she could hear the blood roiling through her ears, and the pitters of her heart as she halted as much of her body as she could. The light inside the servant boy had burnt out right before her eyes. Murdered. Hoshio was  _terrified_ —for her own safety, for Kaeri's... She wished she had chosen to go with the Mukami brothers! If she stayed with Reiji, if she insisted on staying home from this cursed soirée——!

But she could not even muster the strength to scream. Instead she looked to Kaeri and Chie, who wore expressions just as taken off-guard as she. None of them could say a word. They were frozen in place, the servant boy was frozen in slumber; Hoshio was stricken and through and  _still_.

The Hunters took it upon themselves to advance the conversation. Signalled when one of Kaeri's captors cocked another gun against her head, the lead Hunter came forward. Chie was far too softened up to protect anything now, and so they approached the remaining vampires with ease.

"Two days till the eclipse. You can't beat us, vampires. So do as we say and we'll spare this one." And by 'this one,' he meant Kaeri.

"... _No_.." Chie muttered. Her voice sounded so hopeless, so broken, and Hoshio's heart felt like it was crumbling in despair at the sound. But Chie did not  _look_ in pain—her eyes remained in slits, glued to her companion's lifeless body. And they were fierce.

"No..?" The Hunter took another step forward. At that, Hoshio rose a hand over Chie's chest, only to stop her from saying anything more. It would take just one more word to trigger that gun. She knew this well, she felt it so.

"What do you want us to do?" so Hoshio asked. Unlike Chie, she kept her own voice stable, and her face remained stoic, but a stream of thin tears had already begun to seep down her cheeks. She wasn't so heartless that this wouldn't affect her at all—but she dedicated as much energy as she could into ensuring that none of her muscles would flinch. It was an odd sight to witness; an expression so stiff certainly did not look as though it could warrant such an onslaught of tears. She wore the face of a doll crying out of place.

The lead Hunter, staring straight into her welling eyes, recalled his demands by holding up a single finger.

"Access," he said. "Take us to the other floors."

Hoshio swallowed any and every emotion she felt in that moment, so that she could hold a conversation with the Hunters, one that was clear to the both of them.  _Of course_  he would need the one thing she was incapable of doing! But Kaeri's life was in danger, and Chie's own feelings were making her unreadable. Hoshio had to do the talking here.

"You want me to... teleport you?" She clarified, and as she spoke, a male Hunter approached her. He bent toward the servant boy, whose body still remained in Hoshio's hold, and removed the handcuffs from his hands. He then tossed the pair to his comrade.

"Yes," said the leader. "We will spare all three of you if you do." And as  _he_ spoke, the handcuff-wielding Hunter engaged with Chie. She fought, but the Hunter proved to be stronger, and the end result was that her arms were twisted up behind her back, wrists locked inside rings of anti-vampire metal. Hoshio was growing more insecure by the second. "As you can see, Princess, we are no ordinary Hunters. You let us in, we let your friends go. Simple as that."

Hoshio wondered. If she  _could_ teleport, she would have been out of there in an instant, and these Hunters would have had no one to use. If she had gone with Kaeri and the servant boy earlier, they'd have never set foot in this mess. Or what if she didn't care at all for Kaeri? Or Chie? She would have abandoned them by now. ...Did the Hunters consider that? It was as if they _knew_ she wouldn't leave them behind—but she couldn't help her own side either!

Hoshio was feeling doubtful. Another rush of tears came streaming down her face, and this time her brows caved in. She was overstimulated by all of this. Kaeri and Chie were bound, she was expected to save them; she was expected to betray everyone at this soirée to help those Hunters do who-knew-what. She met Kaeri in the eye, but the noblewoman's state was declining at a rapid rate. Her onyx eyes were barely open, and her hair hung over her sweat-stained head in messy coils. Chie was trying her hardest to resist, but could only feel the power of anti-vampire metal restrict every bit of her strength. Neither were in a condition to give Hoshio any advice at all.

She swallowed again. She wrapped her arms tighter around the corpse in her hold, and looked between the abundance of Hunters shrouding her vision. Her heart began to patter even harder than before, and she swore she was going to have a heart attack from how many times she had panicked this evening. What to do? Her mind was in shambles.

Slowly, though, she rested the servant boy's body on the floor, and straightened his legs and shut his eyes, and then smoothed out her own skirt. Her shoulder had a warm spot from where his wound had leaked out, but the color was not visible on her black and crimson ball gown. She could keep her arms from trembling, at least, and looked up at the Hunters with sheer ferocity in her weeping eyes.

"Fine," she said. "I'll help you."

"...Don't, Hos—" Kaeri began, but immediately cut herself off when her captor jabbed her gun against her head once more. The lead Hunter was satisfied.

"No conditions at all? Perfect. Take us upstairs, then."

Hoshio's brows quivered again. "You could have easily broken in upstairs," she pointed out. The leader forced out a half-hearted chuckle.

"Brute strength is useless on spellbound windows and walls," he said. "But surely you knew that already, Princess? Stop wasting my time." It was true; the private rooms upstairs and the ballroom down below were the only areas of this building that ran on spellwork. It would explain why Yuma couldn't break down the door, why an opening had suddenly appeared in the wall during the feasts. The only thing that Hoshio still did not understand was where Rumi's bouquet had sprouted up from, but now was not a very appropriate time (nor place) to ask that. So she swallowed again and sighed heavily, wiping at one eye. She had no idea what she was to do. She couldn't bring the Hunters upstairs even if she wanted to. She couldn't save Kaeri or Chie. She couldn't save the servant boy.

...But she could run.

Hoshio stood still for a few more moments, always keeping her gaze lowered. She breathed in once through her nose, a despairing sniffle which she felt slightly embarrassed for seconds afterwards; and exhaled, and then burst through the restaurant's exit. Hoshio's legs were not accustomed to projecting her body forward with so much force, but she ran and ran, ignoring every scream and beg her body sent for her to stop.

The Hunters were not just about to let her escape, however. Quite a few of them ploughed into the night after her. Hoshio couldn't imagine what would happen if they caught her. She half expected to hear those guns go off again, taking the lives of both Kaeri and Chie within an instant, but fortunately there was not a single crack of gunfire, and so she was able to focus solely on sprinting as far away as she could.

She wove between alleys, sprinting through dark passages and up crumbling stairs, but realized she would probably have a better chance of escaping if she went somewhere crowded. Although, that was a silly thought—where would she find a crowd of people outside at three in the morning? She couldn't comprehend where she was running to, or if she was going in circles, but she cursed the loud echoes of her stilettos with every dash she took. They'd give her away if she tried to hide! ...Though, Hunters could smell—they were sniffer dogs trained to locate vampires. Hiding would never work out.

At one point Hoshio turned into another random alley, but immediately skidded to a halt. Somehow, a few of her pursuers had guessed she'd turn that way and had already come in to barricade her exit. She nearly tripped over her own feet in an attempt to whirl around the other way. However even that way, another set of Hunters had filed in, and she was blocked on both ends.

"Don't come any closer..!" she hissed out at them, and backed up against the wall. The Hunters advanced regardless.

"We're not going to hurt you," one tried to reassure her, and it was the truth; laying a finger on the royals of the vampire clan would land them in war with a  _colony_ —not just the nobles who hosted that soirée. But Hoshio was not acting as a royal would, and had led them on this far; if she had the mindset of a true demon monarch their lives would have perished long before.

"I don't care," Hoshio growled. "Stay  _back!_ "

But they crowded further and further around her, and at this point Hoshio was tired of keeping her muscles still. Her entire body was shaking. Her core was roiling about in fear and unease; her knees felt like buckling, and her heels hurt in those awful shoes. However when the Hunters still insisted on closing in on her, Hoshio couldn't handle it. She rose her hands against them, and cried out one last time, before she felt something spark from within her palms.

Unlike that frosty feeling, this ignited her skin, and it was hot, unbearably hot—but she lost her focus on the heat the moment she heard agonizing shrieks trilling out from the humans beside her. Her eyes need only blink, and her nose was suddenly filled with the odors of smoke and burning skin. They were on  _fire_. She had somehow set the Hunters all ablaze! It took only seconds to completely mar their beings into ash, and she watched it all as they melted like witches and swept across the concrete below.

This time, it was  _her_ turn to shriek, and for the first time since her awakening, a shrill, much-needed scream bellowed out from the top of her lungs. Hoshio could hardly breathe. She brought her shaky hands up to her face, examining them. They were white and cold and did not seem as though they had just sent sparks flying. Still, her emotions were not cooling in the slightest. There was nothing left in front of her; not a single bone or cloth, but the stench was prominent. She almost toppled over right there to faint.

However, her body kept strong; her eyes kept blurring but she could still think nonetheless.  _And at least_ , she thought,  _I have nothing to hide._ She wiped at her nose and gathered her skirt in one hand, and began to run again. Like before, she had no clear destination in mind, but she ran anyway. She'd run until she left the city, she decided.

She'd keep running...

...That was, of course, unless she ran into someone else before she made it out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hii♪
> 
> I kinda enjoyed this chapter, even though it was srsly lacking of diakids uwu
> 
> Hopefully you read this far, because there'll be some exciting-fulnessness in the next couple chapters!! (Ik I promised that last time and I didn't give ya any Yuma or Reiji BUT this time I promise we'll see at least one of 'em next time!!)
> 
> ...There's also a new character (who's canon) appearing next chapter!!
> 
> any guesses~?


	26. Magie Inattendue

Yuma wasn't entirely certain how long they had been driving around in this silence, but he was not one to keep his mouth shut, and neither did he enjoy so much quietude. Of course, the four Mukami brothers had a lot to deal with that evening, but he still wouldn't allow a few burn scars to hush up the entire ride. So he opened his mouth, and began to speak.

"That place made me sick," he said. Yuma rolled his head back from shoulder to shoulder, relieving the knots and cricks that had burrowed themselves deep in his neck. Kou shot him a look of disdain at the sound of cracking joints, but he wasn't in the mood to make a fuss about it. Besides, he had no place to; they all needed relief, and they had to forgive every annoying quirk that bothered them. Not to mention Kou felt the same anyway.

"Too many creeps hanging around," he agreed, resting his own head on the back of the limousine. His eyes flicked up to the lighted ceiling. Kou's mind drew over the events of the night, recalling what they had done in the time between their first encounter with Hoshio and their last. Of course, they hadn't attended that soirée just to party—and he was glad that they were able to do what they needed to before the fire. But Hoshio's abnormal change of personality remained in his thoughts. She was  _gullible_ , and though Kou knew didn't care for her nor was he any worried, he still had a feeling that something wrongful might abuse that. So he pried into his brothers' thoughts about it, and set up his question like one would a bet. "...How long do you think Hoshirin will last by herself?"

"She's got that friend who's always crowdin' around her at school," Yuma shrugged. He didn't care much either. But Kou perked up at the mention of that friend, who would be Kaeri Shiroda, and he sent Yuma a suggestive smile.

"She's the one who... likes you?"

"Yeah," Yuma said, plain and simple. He was unfazed. There was no reason for him to feel awkward anyway—it wasn't as if he reciprocated any of Kaeri's "feelings" for him. But Kou started to giggle, chuckling hard once it was confirmed that they were, in fact, talking about Shiroda-san. It hurt to laugh, but he couldn't stop himself.

"You know, she's not into you at all," Kou revealed, though he still hadn't composed himself quite yet. "My eye sees it in her. She never even cared about you to begin with." A ghost of a flame began to blaze in Kou's right eye, flickering bright red, as he recalled what it was exactly he saw when he had before stared down every truth in Kaeri's body. But he also kept his gaze on Yuma, wanting to see the reaction that came out of him. And Yuma had paused.

Well,  _now_  he felt awkward—he had been so confident when he confirmed that yes, Kaeri Shiroda did have a small little crush on him—and it was all false, apparently? He remained gruff however, and rubbed his eye with a charred, but steadily healing wrist.

"Whatever. Makes things easier for me, then," was all that he said. "One less nuisance to deal with." Kou found definite amusement in that comment, and felt even more inspired to entertain it.

"Wow, you're not at all disappointed~?" he exclaimed, and it was obvious to Yuma at this point that everything Kou had said so far was all done to tease. "Her family was pretty high up there. You would've been  _so_  lucky~!" He was smiling wide now. His throat was sore with the gusts of ash he choked down earlier, but he still sang his words through the husk. Yuma rolled his eyes, and forced out a snort of his own.

"Like I'd ever fall for a spoiled-ass pureblood."

"'Cause you're more into girls like our li'l masokitty, right~?" And  _that_ caused Yuma to nearly choke on his spit, no doubt. Kou's sudden mention of Yui had caught him off guard. But he recovered swiftly, and sniffed, and rubbed at his irritated eye again.

"Like hell I'd be," Yuma snapped. Kou started snickering again, and pointed at his own right eye. The red-rose glow had faded away by now, but the magic within it would always enchant onlookers; it was mesmerizing to watch, and impossible to tear away from. Kou took advantage of the attention he was receiving and kept on egging at Yuma's growing fury.

"I know you do; you can't hide anything from me~!"

"If that's true then why couldn't that eye tell ya anything 'bout Shio's amnesia? Aah?"

Yuma was finally fed up with what this conversation had come to, and so he opted to change the subject. Naturally, he would steer it to Hoshio, as she was the only other girl on his mind right now, and none of his brothers could poke fun at his fondness for her—because there was none. His slight attraction to Yui had earned him an unnecessary amount of goading from all three of his brothers. He didn't know  _why_ , because he was surely not the only one; in truth, all of the Mukami brothers were hopelessly addicted to Yui Komori. Though whether that passion was for her herself, or for her blood, or for her role as Eve varied among them. (Perhaps the teasing came because Yuma fell under the first category while the others did not.) Well, whatever the issue was—whether he felt flustered, irked, or bothered, it was a fact that in this moment, Yuma did not want to talk about Yui, and Hoshio would be an interesting topic for them anyway. Moreso tonight than any other time.

But Kou's smirk never once left his pink-hued lips at that parrying question. He knew exactly why Yuma wanted this discussion swerved to another subject, and though he himself would love to poke even more fun at it, that specific question was actually worth an honest answer.

"He wasn't necessarily lying about her," so Kou responded, referring back to when Reiji had given that explanation for Hoshio's situation. "It just wasn't the whole truth."

Yuma rolled his eyes up again, and the conversation between the two middle brothers came to a cease. With that done, he turned to his youngest brother. Azusa was sitting upright by now, and had been awake for some time, but he still refrained from speaking. He was much too bashful to talk about anything now. And Ruki had occupied himself tending to him, as he would; Ruki could understand their youngest brother's basic needs, and would always cater to them—which included undoing Azusa's gauze and wrapping new bandages around his worse-stricken arms.

Azusa had somehow sustained the worst out of their scorches. That was a bit odd, considering how little he had moved during their time trapped behind burning walls, but he had the scars and sears to prove it.  _More_ scars and sears, rather. It was an unfortunate truth that Azusa Mukami was notorious for lining his skin with little slits of bliss, and knowing how much he had physically opposed Ruki's assistance in the beginning, his three older brothers silently came to the conclusion that the burns this time around were received intentionally.

"Feelin' better?" Yuma queried. He had meant it earnestly, but he sounded more overbearing than anything. "You got pretty fucked up back there."

Azusa brought his head up slowly, and nodded. "I'm fine," he murmured. And then he quickly added: "..Sorry." Ruki had finished tying off the white wraps, and sat back in his seat, while Azusa kept his gaze locked on the lower wall in front of him. Yuma had nothing to say to that response.

For a while longer, they drove around in silence, with the occasional cough and grunt. Kou leaned his head back again, rolling his baby blue eyes up to the ceiling again. He was very bothered by how gruff his voice had become. His throat itched. Who cared that everyone else was struggling with their own new faults? Kou was an idol, and his voice had received the worst of it!

"How could that old hag do this to an  _idol's_ voice?" He complained to himself. Whereas Yuma's ghastly voice had started to heal (though he was naturally raucous anyways), Kou's was steadily deteriorating, and he now sounded awfully gruff and hoarse. It hadn't been much of a concern for him until now, and when he tried to talk again but found that he couldn't, he looked on at Ruki with distaste splattered all across his beautiful face.

"I need  _blood_ ," Kou insisted. "Or water—whatever, just give me something."

"We don't carry water in here," Ruki sighed. "Just wait a while longer; we'll be back at the hotel soon."

"I can't  _sing_ like this! I have four concerts this week!" Kou couldn't even raise his voice to sound stern. Feeling irritated now, he snapped his head toward Yuma. "Where do you keep your sugarcubes?"

"The fuck—I ain't givin' ya my Sugar-chan." ...Well, Yuma kept himself defensive.

"Sugar is probably the worst thing you can eat right now," Ruki added in. "And stop talking; you'll only make this worse."

"I'll sto... alking when I feel li... it," Kou's voice drowned out somewhere in between. Ruki rested a hand on his aching forehead. His blonde brother was an idol; you'd think he'd know how to take care of his voice. But Kou was not the most responsible of folk, and it wasn't exactly common for a vampire who normally fed off the power of the Vampire King to lose his voice. Ruki could understand that much.  _Obviously_  Kou wouldn't know how to handle this.

"I don't want to hear you utter another word," so Ruki said, sterner this time, stricter this time. Kou wrinkled his nose and slumped his shoulders. But he didn't respond, and Ruki was satisfied with that. He took it upon himself to finally begin a new conversation among the four of them, about the soirée, and what they had done before the fire.

"Now then," he coughed, and everyone's attention was brought away from Kou. "Though it may be of no concern of ours, I've got th——"

"Holy shit!"

Ruki was quickly interrupted when Yuma exclaimed all of a sudden, his vision locked on something outside the window. Ruki felt bothered by this brash disruption, but kept himself cool and composed.

"What is it, Yuma?"

"Shio's outside." He had been following that one person's figure as they scurried down the block for a while now, and Yuma had been intrigued by how unsightly she had been moving; and it ended up being Hoshio, of all people! The three other Mukami brothers mindlessly followed Yuma's line of sight. Sure enough, Hoshio Sakamaki was flocking around, clutching her skirt up in one hand and her pair of stilettos in the other. Long twirls of mahogany curled down her shoulders, awkwardly separated from the braided crown bun she had flaunted earlier that evening. She was not keeping herself together at all.

"How'd she get this far?" Yuma queried, not expecting an answer. But Ruki looked on at their tallest brother in disdain.

"Before you interrupted me, Yuma," he said, in a tone that only sets of siblings could know, "I was going to inform you that I directed our driver back to the city. I had... a sense of Karlheinz-sama. We did leave the soirée early, after all, and it wouldn't be too careless to assume he arrived late."

The dread on Kou's face was very evident in that moment. Here he was so anxiously anticipating their arrival back at the hotel room, so that he could rest—but instead they had turned around again! He wanted his bed, a cup of hot tea, and some shelter from this uncomfortable atmosphere. But no one paid him any mind; he couldn't speak, anyway, so no one knew to pity him. Ruki went on.

"The odd thing, however," Ruki continued, after eyeing and, yes, acknowledging Kou from the corner of his eye, "is that that man's presence is not coming from within the ballroom, rather, from that alley in which that girl is about to turn down into."

Azusa stole another glance at the alley arrays, and watched as Hoshio's tousled form scurried into the darkness. Her hurried footsteps came to a cease, but that was all, and so he looked back at Ruki.

"I don't... smell anything," he admitted. How could  _Ruki_ sense Karlheinz, when none of the others could?

"I don't either," Yuma grumbled out. Kou looked very anxious to agree with them, but he did not. 

Ruki motioned to the space beside him, where a plain white box sat. He laid the palm of his hand on top of it, but did not lift the lid; he stroked it only to attract the attention of all three brothers to it. That mystery box would be the reason why the four of them came to the soirée in the first place, though only Ruki knew what it was.

"It's because of this artifact," Ruki explained. He then handed the box to Azusa, who sat closest to him. Azusa took his time to raise up his hand, and took it from the eldest brother with a curious wonder in his eyes.

When the Mukami brothers were invited to Jakurai's soirée per Karlheinz's request, they were also instructed to confiscate this specific relic from their host. They were not to outright ask Jakurai for it, nor were they supposed to let it be known that they were the thieves. This was an order given to them by their sire Karlheinz, after all, and so they obliged with every condition checked off perfectly. As of now, Jakurai still didn't know that this artifact had even been stolen.

And said relic was, essentially, a tracker of sorts.

There were very few people who knew Karlheinz personally. He was an enigma, and he was secretive, and he could only be found when he wanted to be. This was known very well amongst vampires and other demons alike. However for whatever reason, this device allowed even the simplest of demons to sniff him out—so long as Karlheinz was in close proximity. And he happened to be here now, right around the corner, interacting with a daughter who had no clue who this man was.

The ability to sense his sire's presence came washing over Azusa almost immediately after taking the box. It wasn't opened, and the device inside remained untouched, but its power coursed through him, and even made it through to Yuma, who sat directly at his side. They both understood in that moment why Karlheinz had made such a fuss over ensuring that they retrieved this artifact for him. It made vulnerable the man who was quite possibly the most mysterious creature known to speak.

But this revelation did not come to Ruki. Ruki focused more on the likely chance of another, or a dozen more devices working just like this one did—that could pinpoint and ambush the only man whose death Ruki would weep for. However he kept this to himself, and instead looked for solace; Karlheinz did not order them to find multiples, so perhaps this  _was_ the only one. He thought about it. Meanwhile, Yuma handed the box over to Kou.

"What the hell?" Was Kou's immediate response. He furrowed his brows, not understanding how this relic worked at all. However when he looked up again, he noticed that all three of his brothers were staring at him. "What?" He asked them, and then realized that he did not sound like himself. He had the voice of an asthmatic elderly man!

"...You've gotten worse," Ruki commented, only pointing out the obvious. "At this rate, I'd advise you not to speak for this entire week."

Kou wanted to talk back, he really did. He couldn't  _not_ —he had concerts, fans, backstage meet-and-greets, and his manager of whom he really did have to check in with! He couldn't just neglect all of that, but he would never go against Ruki. Kou was horribly conflicted. His duty as an idol was to sing and dance, but his responsibility as a Mukami was to obey Ruki (and ultimately Karlheinz).

So he chose not to speak, deciding that if he satisfied the more important of his roles, his voice dilemma just  _might_ mend before his next concert. And obviously, his own brother would always upstage his idol work. So his voice silenced, and his lips pursed together, and he let out a long, upset exhale from his nose. Yuma snorted from his side, and although Kou was far too egoistic to act complaisant to more than one person within a timeframe this small, he held his words still.

"With that said," Ruki coughed, "Our next concern is figuring out how Jakurai could have possibly obtained this."

"...I dunno," Yuma said unhelpfully. He thought Ruki was moving too fast. Why couldn't they just take a night to rest? "I mean, if this thing's legit, we could just walk over there and ask Karlheinz-sama right now."

"...We could," Ruki considered, though sounded hesitant. But that was all Yuma needed.

"Then let's go." He was so exasperated with everything regarding the soirée. He never wanted to hear of Rumi or Jakurai again, and he decided that they could settle everything if they just returned this device to Karlheinz and got the night over with. So he sprung open the limousine's door, in the middle of the street, and sprinted over to the alleyway. Ruki barely had a chance to call after him, let alone stop him. But he settled with a simple sigh, and turned back to Kou and Azusa. They were not having it. Neither spoke a word, but neither wanted to leave the safety of the limousine too much, either. They wanted to seep back into the privacy of their hotel room. Ruki knew that well, but he also knew what kind of man they were dealing with.

Karlheinz was the one who rebirthed them, who raised them as the close-knit family Mukami. The stand-in father who showed them love for the first time. Most of the Sakamakis might have viewed Karlheinz as the pit of their loathings, but to these four, he had provided the only goodness in their lives, and for that they felt indebted.

"...Karlheinz-sama could heal you," so Ruki offered. His ailing brothers considered.

・

Meanwhile, Hoshio's scramble had immediately come to a halt the second she turned into the alleyway. A man stood in her path, which gave her the strongest intuition to flee, but she found herself captivated by his appearance first instead. Her eyes drew to the elegant, snow-white locks of hair which cascaded down to his legs, and the shimmering gold in his eyes, and his glowing white skin which seemed almost ethereal when pitted against the darkness of night around him. He was a ghostly, beautiful, and bewitching character, and gave Hoshio no good vibes at all.

"...Excuse me," so she murmured as she passed by him, and desperately tried to keep her gaze off him. But this man was a sight to behold. He had  _power_ ; simply standing beside him overwhelmed her with a hard feeling of magic and control. He was someone important, and she knew that much, but she had no desire to involve herself with any more powerful people. However, she still moved cautiously. Her footsteps were quick and quiet, and she rushed on past the Vampire King without even knowing who it was she was acting so irreverent around. He didn't stop her. Karlheinz kept his eyes staring out in front of him, at nothing in particular, and his hair coiled and twirled in the breeze, but his lips moved to form a single word.

"Hoshio," he called. Hoshio stilled. Yet another powerful person was acquainted with her! She hoped this time he wasn't weird. But as weird as this situation was already, this man did not seem the type of person to act rash—he seemed very graceful, and almost detached, and kept mainly to himself. So slowly she turned around to peek back at him. And with that, she almost jumped; for now, she was staring directly at his chest. He was much closer than he was before!

"You're far too late, my dear," he said, as Hoshio stumbled backward. Standing before this man clouded her mind with something she couldn't understand; she was rocked sideways with a hazy tremor.

"Who are you?" she questioned, still rapidly stepping backward. He did not pursue her, and remained still, and Hoshio felt her unease swell up. If he was chasing her, then at least she knew to run; but he was not moving, and she couldn't read his intentions at all. Her fingers clenched around the pair of stilettos she held, and she had half a mind to chuck one of them at him.

"The apple has already fallen," he continued, and watched a deep, bewildered fear fester across Hoshio's green eyes. "Have you lost yourself so much... that you'll allow it to rot?"

" _What?_ " she queried, but had no plans on waiting for his answer. She sprinted away, readying to push her legs down one last alleyway; until she blinked, and was faced with that man's chest again. He was several feet away from her, but still stopped her all the same. Every which way she turned, he would appear, and she was trapped within a cave of mirrors. Hoshio's haze grew heavy.

"Who  _are_  you..?" she asked again, desperate this time. Her gaze flicked up to the man's face, and she wondered if he was a runaway guest from the soirée. Or maybe, she thought, perhaps she was seeing ghosts now—he spoke in such an eloquent, riddled sort of way, and carried an air of obvious importance all around him.  _Maybe_ this man was the great-grandfather of the Hunter she killed, who also happened to have died in the back alleys, and was here to avenge his unjustly-deceased descendant. Or was that too much of a stretch? Well, if vampires and viboras and other demons danced through the streets, who was she to know that ghosts couldn't do the same? So she asked: "Are you a spirit..?"

He certainly did not have the energy of a spirit. He was wise and aged, but he was very much alive, and carried the smell of a vampire; something familiar, now that she thought about it. She wasn't sure... Something about the way his jaw was structured, and the slope of his nose and the turn of his eyes all reminded her of...  _Reiji_.

And then it dawned on her.

This power that quaked the blood inside her, that rippled through her bones and glazed a numb veil over her mind, was the magic melded for none other than the Vampire King. He was Reiji's father— _her_ father—and he was here, standing right before her. He had come to her himself.

"Karl...heinz..?" She whispered, and rose two fingers up to her lips. Saying his name felt odd to her. She had heard his name over and over again all throughout the night, but had never spoken it aloud, and now he was actually  _here_ and she had no idea what to tell him! She remembered having so many questions she wanted to ask him, but in the moment her mind was still spinning.

Rather than responding, Karlheinz vanished from in front of her. Hoshio panicked again, but this time she worried that he was leaving. Now that she knew this could possibly be her father, she wanted him to sit down with her and explain. She thought she deserved that much! She spun around in an anxious flurry, and was relieved to see him standing in his initial location. One hand reached out toward her.

"Come, Hoshio."

She hesitated. "...You  _are_ Karlheinz, aren't you..?"

When he did not respond, and instead stood as he did, with his eyes still beckoning her forward, Hoshio's fingers curled into her palms. He  _had_ to be Karlheinz. He couldn't be anyone else. He had Reiji's looks. He had a monarch's wisdom. And he had a vampire's prowess. As one would suspect of such a grand persona, he was a mature, regal, and distinguished creature. Karlheinz was the Vampire King, and he could be no one else. With that notion embedded in her mind, Hoshio now felt comforted by his presence, a type of solace none of his sons could ever give her.

So she decided then that she would not let her father go. He wanted her to approach him, and she did; she stepped forward, tentatively at first, and then she sprinted. Her arms encircled the Vampire King's body, and she shoved her face into his chest—as that was as high as she could reach. Her bare feet felt raw on the gravel-rocked road, but she stood forcibly, and would not pry herself away from her all of her truths. She needed this now, and she would not let it escape her.

"What's  _happening_ here?" she implored him, and tightened her grip. He never returned her embrace, but never removed her from his body either; he simply stood, and kept his arms by his side, and his eyes remained indifferent. Hoshio's soul was trembling. Here was her father, in the flesh! His voice, his scent, his presence—but none of it brought any other memories to mind. Karlheinz rose a single hand to ruffle the back of his daughter's hair.

"Hope is not all lost," he assured her, though she had no idea what that meant. Karlheinz smiled, with a small, graceful tug of his lips. "...You've come to understand that, haven't you, Hoshio?"

Hoshio wondered, but then decided that she lacked the mental energy to solve whatever riddle this man was throwing her way. Or perhaps it wasn't anything cryptic, and she was just slow?  _The apple has fallen. Will you let it rot? Hope is not all lost._ Truthfully, she didn't want to be solving puzzles at this hour; and instead brought her own arms tighter around her father's body.

"Do you know everything?" she asked him. "Why can't I remember anything?"

"You know your task," he told her. "Fulfill it."

"I don't have a task—I have a  _crisis._ I've woken up without my memories!" Hoshio felt frustrated. Although, her mind subconsciously travelled back to that letter she had found in her room—the one left out for her.  _Don't leave Yui alone_ , it had said. Perhaps that was the task he was referring to? She wondered. "...Is this... about that person called Yui-san?"

Karlheinz bowed his head, and his white lips pulled upward. In Hoshio's mind, Yui Komori was a goddess of knowledge;  _everything_ seemed to lead back to that one particular girl. Everyone had mentioned her! Even Hoshio's own father was bringing her up now. But the only other girl that hadn't been spoken of was Hoshio's sister. Yuma had already argued that no such sibling existed, but surely her father would speak the truth. And so she thought, perhaps Yui and her mysterious sister were the same person?

"...Yui, my sister?" so Hoshio queried. "Where is she?"

Karlheinz never once faltered from the commanding sort of smile that glistened on his lips, but he did not give her a soluble answer. Hoshio felt put off by that. He had not given clear answers to any of her questions, which prompted a different kind of unease to swell up inside her. There was no proof that he was actually Karlheinz—he never confirmed it. For all she knew, he could be a stranger who recognized her as the Vampire King's daughter and took the chance to play with her wrought feelings. Abusers, manipulators, liars; this night had made it clear that the lot of residents here were fully capable of every malevolent nightmare she could think of. And she believed this man so quickly! She did not wholly lose faith in this man's credibility, but a large part of her did. She was more pessimistic about everything.

And now that this conclusion had settled in Hoshio's mind, she found this entire situation very awkward. She swiftly unhooked her arms from around her "father." Hugging a  _stranger_ —she was ashamed of how impulsive she had become! But Karlheinz recognized every fresh notion that swept through Hoshio's mind, and knew the uncertainty was swelling bigger and bigger inside of her. And to put it frankly, he was rather disappointed.

"...You're far more confused than I thought," he noted. Hoshio blinked at him. Well, for once, he sounded like he was addressing  _her_ , and not speaking in circles. "Though, perhaps that is to be expected. Enjoy the rest of your evening, Hoshio."

Karlheinz distanced himself from Hoshio then, but Hoshio still clung to the possibility that he  _was_ who she thought he was, and felt terrified to let him go. She spurred into action as quickly as she could. Running forward, she threw her arms out to latch onto his cloak—and felt nothing. He was gone. Her father had vanished before her eyes, melting away into the darkness around her. She yelped out in disdain. Her head whipped around, but she saw nothing, and felt nothing. Another escape. She couldn't capture anything _..!_

Just in time, however, a voice called out mere seconds after she had lost all hope again.

"Oi," they grumbled out. Hoshio recognized that voice as Yuma's, but called it a figment of her imagination; Yuma would never miraculously show up like that. He was  _wounded_ , he had Azusa to care for, and he himself was burnt up all over! But still, she turned to see, and jumped when it was true that Yuma Mukami actually  _was_ standing there.

"...Yuma-san!"

"Was that your father here just now?" Yuma looked very irritated for some reason. His face was wound up, and his brows were pulled downward. He seemed much larger than he usually did, and his arms looked all the more dangerous. There were no signs of his burns anywhere. ...But that did not comfort Hoshio in the slightest. She remembered how frightened she was when he did have all of his strength, and she would rather not experience that again. ...Surely he wasn't angry at her, though, right? But that didn't mean he wasn't above taking whatever ailed him  _out_ on her. ...However, Yuma was simply frustrated that he had missed Karlheinz's appearance yet again, and had no control over his outward menace—which could emerge even when he meant no ill will at all. Hoshio answered him quietly.

"...Yes," she said, keeping a tentative stare-off with him. She was caught only when another sound echoed through the night, and she jumped. The howls of several wolves wisped through the air, and they felt much closer than they were, like they were right behind her. Hoshio turned toward the sound, but obviously could not see any canines from her spot lodged between the alley's tall grove of buildings. She tried not to let it bother her, and continued with this tense conversation. "...Why did you come back?"

"I thought he'd still be here," Yuma grunted. "Whatever. I'm leaving."

"Ah... Okay," Hoshio nodded, watching as he turned his back to her. It surprised her, but she felt a bit cast aside by that; a half of her had actually started wishing she could go with him. She had nowhere else to go, after all. But she'd never ask him outright. He was not close to her anyway. She was on her own until she was reunited with Chie or Kaeri or the Sakamaki family again—none of which she particularly wanted to see, except maybe Reiji. But here she still spoke with Yuma, and she lowered her head to send him off. "...Get better soon."

"Yeah," Yuma responded. Then he disappeared around the corner, too. Hoshio felt hopeless. Really, where  _was_ she to go? She had no idea how to get back to the Sakamaki mansion. She had no technology on her to reach them—but even if she did happen to run into a payphone, she had no numbers in her memory to dial. Where would she  _sleep?_  ...And Reiji! She couldn't believe he'd engage himself with her like he did, only to then abandon her without a word. Her father dealt with her the same way.

So Hoshio made up her mind: Yuma was her last chance. It was horribly awkward on her part, but she wouldn't let him run twice—and she was so frightened being alone. She couldn't even fathom what would happen if anyone found the mass of ash left behind in that one alley, or if the lead Hunter somehow managed to track his son's death down to her. Obviously they would know it was her who killed those other Hunters, too! They came specifically to pursue her. They knew she was the only one who had interacted with them; they knew she was a princess capable of so much more than the common vampire. Even if she didn't know the full extent of her own abilities,  _they_ would. And they wouldn't hold back with their rage; she'd be killed!

So she ran, calling out for Yuma, and choked down her pride once he lifted his gaze around back to her.

"Yuma-san, um—" she stuttered. She cursed herself for getting so shy all of a sudden. But she did recall that Kou  _had_  encouraged her to come with them earlier, so perhaps Yuma wouldn't reject her. This was her only shot. "...Can I.. come with you..?"

Yuma paused. He looked exhausted, and very tired of dealing with everything, and Hoshio held her breath in anticipation. Of course, this pause gave her time to think of all the things that could possibly go wrong; she was, after all, subjecting herself to an enclosed private space with four men she hardly knew. ...Or maybe they'd be kind and give her a ride home? But her "home" was not the most welcoming of places either... Well, Reika would be there. And wherever Reiji was, he would eventually return to that mansion too.

Well, being overwhelmed by the Mukami brothers seemed like a much better alternative than awaiting death in the dark of these alleys. And besides, they weren't in the best of health either; they  _all_ needed a day to recuperate. She truly believed she'd be safe until then, at least. She really hoped for it. Maybe this was a chance to discover more about them? Maybe they  _weren't_ so bad. Maybe she was just too panicky.

Yuma swiped at his nose. "Yeah, whatever. Come on."

Hoshio felt a new kind of relief swell up inside her, and eagerly slipped on her stilettos again before wobbling over to Yuma's side. He noticed how painfully she was stumbling around, but he didn't acknowledge it, and instead they walked in silence. The three remaining Mukami brothers were waiting for them back inside the limousine.

In the end, Kou and Azusa were far too exhausted to leave the car. Hoshio greeted Ruki with a small wave, but he ignored her; and the rest of the way was silent again. Hoshio felt too nervous to say anything, much less request to be dropped off at the mansion. At least she no longer felt distressed in their presence. Maybe it wasn't the wisest of her to think so, but she had conformed her mindset enough to believe there would not be any dangers with them—they were all exhausted, she continually told herself. She was safe to last the next day.

But was she really?

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> kou's voice so husky it could pull a sledge xp
> 
> //shot
> 
> IF YA DIDN'T CATCH THAT LITTLE BIT OF FORESHADOWING, HERE IT IS AGAIN:
> 
> "the wolves were howling in the distance"
> 
> hmm HMMM
> 
> maybe they're just random wolves but I'm not creative enough to throw in meaningless details like that lol
> 
> everything (probably) happens for a reason in this fic ;;


	27. Un Coup d’œil en L'Échiquier

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back!! Ik this is a terrible author tactic, but I really had no inspiration for this chapter... I just wanted to skip to the romance... so this chapter is kind of poor, short, and... not the greatest of comebacks. BUT next chapter will come quicker since I'm super stoked for it! Please endure just another merglhspft chapter. sorry!

Kaeri Shiroda blinked in a slow, sluggish sort of way, and she was barely able to keep her eyes open. She knew that the Vampire Hunters had developed a metal that could restrain a vampire's power, but she never considered how hard a toll it would take on her body. Simply keeping herself upright was strenuating enough. But neither could Kaeri think straight; fatigue had tucked in at every corner of her mind.

Although, she was brought back into focus when a familiar figure came through the lobby. She recognized him immediately, and was comforted by his presence. True, she was very under the weather now, but she could understand that this particular person's intervention would ensure her safety. She mustered the strength to tilt her head to the side, her black beady eyes rolling up to the newcomer.

"Oh, dear," he commented, revealing himself to the room. "It seems as though there are more disturbances than I had initially planned for."

Jakurai stood modestly, though his outward appearance was far from that. His hair was a long, lovely shade of reddish mauve, and combed down with a tie to hold it back. He seemed very calm, though he looked out at the Hunters' ensemble with ice in his tea green eyes.

"Truthfully, I'm amazed by this brashness." Jakurai took another step forward, and the Hunters braced themselves. "You thought no one would notice you storming in here with all that clamor? Surely you've noticed that you've stepped foot into a monster's den, haven't you?" His gaze flicked down to the servant boy's lifeless body for a brief moment, but his senses always remained on alert. "And now you've frightened a special guest away, and you've killed one of my servants. ...Are you so proud that you honestly believe you'll be escaping with your lives tonight?" Jakurai's eyes were beginning to flicker, a bright, blazing rose-red.

The lead Hunter rolled his broad shoulders.

"Just the person we were looking for," he grinned, and nodded toward the remaining members of his guild. They knew the drill; Jakurai was a target, and a dangerous one, but they would attack without restraint. As long as he remained alive, they didn't care how battered Jakurai ended up. So long as they locked those anti-vampire cuffs around him. Of course, they couldn't tell for sure if anti-vampire magic could affect a vibora, but who were they to know? They were measly humans.

The Hunters knew that Jakurai was spontaneous, and that he was clever; but they were too. They had no reliable battle tactics against him, for they had never fought before, but they would utilize any means necessary. Any  _responsible_ means. The handcuffs were their key.

But Jakurai found amusement in an arrogance as strong as theirs. He did not think much of these silly Hunters at all. And besides, he was intrigued himself; these Hunters barged in with a relatively small group—around eighteen of them were left, after several had fled after Hoshio. But they expected to overwhelm the hordes of demons underground, by _themselves_? To Jakurai, it was ridiculous. He imagined this fight they were picking could wrap up all before his young daughter Asho awoke from her nap.

...Well, you'd think a man of this age would know not to underestimate humans armed with such heavy vigor; but viboras were proud by nature.  _He'd_  never seen a human succeed in anything. He'd witnessed a First Blood bow his head down to a Vibora King! Jakurai held a vanity very few could claim, and nothing could convince him that a pack of staunch human amateurs could ever overwhelm someone like  _him_.

And so when the Hunters approached him, he didn't even flinch. Jakurai dodged gracefully, and took fluid strides toward Kaeri's captor.

"I do hope you'll forgive my late timing, Shiroda-sama." He offered an apologetic smile. Several Hunters closed in on him, of course, but he made use of his own strengths. A ring of fire manifested around them, enclosing Jakurai, Kaeri, and her direct captor within a blazing wall. The remaining Hunters were forced to distance themselves.

Her captor rose her longsword against Jakurai, and flicked her wrist with as much power as she could muster. Within such a small space, any normal person should not have been able to evade those attacks; but Jakurai's body was not normal, and he could wisp and bend around every thrust of that blade.

He managed to take the Hunter by the neck, and curled his fingers around her balmy skin. The tips of his nails teased at her, pulling just enough to emit a sudden shriek from her lungs. Jakurai leaned in close, nuzzling his nose against the back of her head. Her scent filled his senses—and he saw everything in her; the intent to stay collected, to carry out her duty as a Hunter till the end, but an inevitable fear was steadily crawling out from inside of her. Her blood began rushing at the mere contact she had with him.

"Goodness, you disgust me," Jakurai said. His nails dipped down a bit deeper. It was only now that the Hunter released Kaeri to counterattack, and held onto her sword tightly, but her neck had already begun to bleed. And in the presence of a demon—especially one who had skipped the day's meal in order to deal with these trespassers—she  _knew_ what he wanted from her. The way his eyes glazed over the unflawed skin on her neck was proof enough. A deep, unsettling fear pitted itself inside of her, and she was held still as Jakurai loomed closer.

"Oi," another Hunter jabbed Jakurai in the side with her own blade, long and sharp and caked in a veneer of anti-vampire poison. It was long enough to penetrate the fire barrier, but the flames still sucked on her fingers; still, she endured her crisping skin as best she could in order to help out her trapped comrade. "If you're fighting us, you're fighting  _all_  of us."

Jakurai diverted his attention away from Kaeri's captor. He met the brave one in the eye, and smiled at her. White and pearly teeth glistened through at her, his elongated fangs curving out from his lips like tiny crescent moons. Through the curtain of smoke and flame, his entire figure distorted, only adding to his eerie disposition. Still, the other Hunter stood her ground.

"Silly me," Jakurai chuckled, and stepped fully through his flames. "Allow me to remind you of something, sweetheart—the longer I go without ripping one of you to shreds, the more irritated I get. And I assure you, you'd much rather die while I'm nice." With his piece of advice said, he turned back to Kaeri; her captor of whom was assessing her situation and how she could free herself from the scorches. And then the flames curled in.

The brave Hunter could hear her comrade's shrieks, but those were fleeting, screaming once and screaming out all in a heartbeat. The slivers burst through her skin and bones and marred her soul right before the crowd, until the fires died, and Kaeri lay alone, unconscious.

"There's one," Jakurai smiled, feeling replenished. So quickly had it happened! The remaining Hunters had no words to express. One raised its gun against him, and a blood-curdling shot rang out against the night. But Jakurai caught the bullet between his two fingers, and his smile never faded, not even as he turned back to face them. If anything, he was steadily growing more and more excited.

"What fun, my friends! My darling guest needs to rest a while, but I'll certainly be back to take part in this game!" He then knelt down in front of Kaeri, and laced his arms beneath her limbs.

"You're not going anywhere," a Hunter hissed. Several more gunshots rang out. But they just bounced off the vibora duke's back, and fell with a clutter on the lobby's floor.

"My, don't get ahead of yourselves~ In due time we'll have our play," Jakurai smiled, voice light. He then stood with Kaeri motionless in his arms. The two departed, and he brought Kaeri up to the private rooms, where another servant awaited further duties. The Hunters were left to themselves.

"...Boss?" One muttered.

"Our plans remain the same," the lead Hunter said. "My son... Regardless of what Karlheinz-sama has ordered us to do, I want to destroy that vibora... I want to avenge my son..." Perhaps if Hoshio had been here, she'd be relieved to hear that the Hunter boy  _she_  killed was not the "son" this Hunter spoke of. Or perhaps she'd be surprised, as it was odd for a team of Vampire Hunters to be working under the Vampire King.

But this was true—these Hunters were here by order of King Karlheinz. So had the Sakamaki brothers, and the Mukami brothers as well. Karlheinz had positioned both sides of the chess board, and both sides were set up to inconvenience the vibora Jakurai.  _Steal from him, fight him, learn intel from him_. But everything had its place, and everything—even with the sudden emergency his sons fled to handle, and even with Hoshio's predicament—had gone accordingly. 

Jakurai was a threat, you see, because Jakurai was intelligent. He was not the Vibora King, but he still sought power—and he was going to build a kingdom in the human world. And no doubt would his plans work, if Karlheinz allowed them to. Jakurai had all the right arguments.  _The human world has a fresh variety of food. The human world won't discriminate against you, ghouls_.  _The demon tribes will unite as one in this new paradise_. Why wouldn't they want to go along with it?

Karlheinz was amused by the entire ordeal. Anyone would know that the subspecies could never  _really_  get along. Their pride and blood just wouldn't allow it. Yet, he still considered that this cult might grow out of control; so he placed his own sons at this gala—the first true gathering for Jakurai's campaign.

The Hunters' place was to create discord; to give the Mukami family a chance to flee with their artifact, to let the Sakamaki family observe Jakurai's behaviour under threat—of course, no one was aware that Karlheinz had set everything up this way. As far as the Hunters were concerned, they were saving the country from a potential terroristic doom. They were avenging their boss's son, whose head was served at this very event, adorned and seasoned on a silver platter for these demons to enjoy. These Hunters were rescuers.

Did they actually have a chance? Not at all. But these Hunters were brainwashed with complete and utter loyalty for the Vampire King. They would fight religiously until the end. And this, Karlheinz had known. These Hunters were mere distractions, never true warriors. They were blessed with the power of their King, only to take Jakurai by surprise, but Vampire Hunters weren't purposed to carry out a vibora's death. The outcome of this battle was already set in stone.

Nonetheless, Jakurai gleefully returned to test the waters.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 8 WEEKS.
> 
> E I G H T DARN WEEKS.
> 
> did I lie again about having some fluffy scenes?? u know it
> 
> but is all this oc-plotty-unromantic-boring stuff finished?? yayaya
> 
> I MEAN it wasn't so terribly boring, right? we had some cool little plot reveals! ...kinda?
> 
> NEXT CHAPTER starts fresh as a daisy with lots of yuma!! we'll proceed to reiji's return too!! and laito's not exactly happy that he hasn't gotten to talk in private with hoho for a while... mngh..
> 
> BUT THE REAL QUESTION IS
> 
> what will happen to kou's poor voice D:


	28. Ne Pars Pas

Hoshio held her breath still, running through her thoughts. She should have expected that a family as rich as the Mukami's would be staying at such a grand hotel—but she didn't, and so she was beyond shocked when her eyes landed on the brightly-lit towers of her shelter for the night.

"... _This_ is the place..?" she whispered. Hoshio still had so much on her mind; she had witnessed the events of the soirée with her own two eyes, and had engaged with the other guests herself, yet the night seemed so much more confusing than her hazy memories were. What even happened? Things were going fairly well until that questionable dinner was served—and really, she wanted to know, what was the point of it all? But Hoshio was not so impatient that she would bully an answer out of Ruki or Yuma tonight. Tomorrow, when they all were rested and level again, then she'd pour out her concerns.

"Put this on," Ruki's instructive voice pulled her from her thoughts. When Hoshio turned to face him, he was holding out a long black fur coat. Delighted to have an extra layering, she took it in gratitude. The warmth of its lovely material certainly lessened her unease a little. It sort of made her wonder why she hadn't had a coat in the first place.

"Is this mine?" she asked, admiring its texture.

"No," Ruki responded simply. He distributed several other coats to his brothers.

"Oh." She wondered why he had a women's coat stored away in the back of the limousine, then. Well, he did seem like the type of person who prepared for every occasion—although, he only had enough coats for himself and his brothers, and one for her. Why? Hoshio tried not to think much of it.

"We can't mask the stench of smoke, but these will at least hide our clothes," Ruki observed, adjusting his buttons. Hoshio glanced down at her own attire. The fires hadn't ruined her clothes in the slightest, but her own endeavors in fleeing from those Hunters had scraped and torn it in a manner that was far worse than even Yuma's. And then it dawned on her—they were about to walk into the lobby of a wealthy hotel, filled with the rich, and she certainly was thankful Ruki happened to have a spare coat! It would have been so embarrassing to waltz in there grimy and torn!

"Thank you," so she told him, and she meant it wholeheartedly.

* * *

The Mukami family's hotel room was absolutely  _grand_. Hoshio could not even fathom how this could be considered one mere suite; this looked like the foyer of a mansion! Admittedly, a sudden fatigue had slipped over her once she'd entered the hotel's lobby, and she felt strangely dizzy trudging through the halls—but the sight of this room snapped her right back into focus. It was so bright in here, a very welcoming view.

Besides, of course, the boys' belongings. But maybe that was exactly why this was so welcoming? It made her feel... at home. Luggage and clothes littered the couches, while candy wrappers and leftovers from last night's room service occupied the tables. A homely sight like that gave her some sense of security, but she quickly grew wary again. She knew little to nothing about this family, after all. Hoshio was in a constant battle of trust with herself.

"We're home~" Kou sighed out in content, his voice still horrid and ugly. He eagerly climbed up the stairs of the suite before disappearing into the bedroom area. Soon afterward, the shower began to run. Azusa and Yuma also went off to do their respective nightly activities, which left Hoshio to stand with Ruki. He burrowed his arms.

"We may have agreed to host you for the night," he said, and Hoshio could physically feel her own reassurance draining from her. "However, you're expected to leave tomorrow morning prompt. Understood?" The current time was just past three o'clock in the morning, so she wasn't exactly sure what time Ruki planned on sending her away. But, maybe times were different to vampires. She still didn't know herself.

"Okay," so she said. "Thank you again."

A piece of her wondered if she should ask him everything she wanted to know now, then. Since she was going to be shooed off in the morning anyway—which could be anytime between an hour or twelve, who knew? She doubted she'd get another chance to. And she wanted guidance on where she would go once her time ran out. The drive from the Sakamaki mansion here was very, very long, so she doubted she could walk there herself. But, Ruki seemed far sterner with her now than he used to be, and their conversations had become tense. Hoshio felt like she was only inconveniencing him now.

Well, aside from where she would leave afterward, and all the other mysterious she sought, Hoshio had bigger worries.

"Um," she started, and felt a bit anxious. She hoped she didn't sound so pretentious. "Will I get a bed?"

"You can sleep on one of the sofas."

"And... I don't have spare clothes."

Ruki simpered. "That is a problem, isn't it? Perhaps one of my brothers will lend you some nightwear." And that was all Ruki was willing to help her with, so Hoshio was left alone. Their suite was so large that none of the four Mukami brothers were anywhere in sight once Ruki wandered off. Though she could hear the shower running and the muffled zips of Yuma rummaging through his luggage, she had no idea which room to venture into first. She'd feel too shy about it, anyway! Maybe she'd be best off returning to the lobby for a while, just to clear her head. Although, she worried over the vampires there... since vampires made up a majority of the guests downstairs. She thought they were all staring at her—well, even if they were humans she still wouldn't feel much better about it at all. Perhaps Hoshio just disliked people in general?

So she came to the conclusion that she wouldn't go downstairs. But she felt like a discarded toy; no one was paying attention to her! Surely she must have been a foreign presence to them—she was their visitor—so why weren't they laying down ground rules or anything like that? Did they expect her to just seize whatever section of the suite she wanted? Would they allow that? She hadn't thought so, but maybe she was much closer with this family than she'd thought. Yuma was crude, certainly, but was he supposed to be an ally? Although, she'd think friends should be much more welcoming. And friends wouldn't abandon her after a single night, when she was already lost enough as it was. ...Well, truly, who was she to know? Perhaps before her memory loss, she had accumulated friends who were all crude and irreverent.

Hoshio's thoughts did had a theme of running off topic.

"Oi, Shio," Yuma's voice called out from one room. Her head snapped up immediately. Finally!

"Yes?" Her voice came out sounding much too eager than she'd wanted it to. Hoshio spurred her legs into motion, taking quick strides toward the source of Yuma's voice. She poked her head into his room. It was smaller, alcove-like bedroom, which was nestled in the corner of the suite and looked far less impressive from the rest of the area. It had a nice color scheme, though, she thought, with cream-beige walls and dark violet curtains. But Hoshio's eyes were drawn to Yuma especially—for he had stripped himself of his blazer and pressed shirt; and stood only in his dress pants. But just as quickly as she had brought her gaze to him, she flicked her eyes to the side. His bare chest was very well-trained. It was a sight! She felt embarrassed by it.

"...Sorry, um..."

"You showering?"

Hoshio blinked. In one soft, gentle motion she tilted her head to the side, as she had misinterpreted the question. "No...?" she said. Obviously she wasn't showering—she was standing. She couldn't believe how he didn't see that. But Yuma kept his eyes on her, and swiped at his nose once more. Then he glided forward, and loomed his face close to hers. She winced away on instinct. She didn't think to run, though, and so he got closer—and took in a deep, random whiff of her skin. Hoshio froze.

"Wh-what?" she started, feeling conscious.  _Sniffing her!_  As if he was the one to determine whether she needed to shower or not! And he called her the proud one—what gave him the right?!

"You kinda smell like smoke," he noted. "You'll shower."

Hoshio could feel her cheeks burning, but she let her brows furrow, and she cursed his opinionated mindset. "You can't blame that on me," she told him. "You were the one trapped in that room—you're the one whose nose is  _filled_ with smoke!" Well, even she believed him, a little bit. She did get swept up in ash gusts when Yuma ploughed out of the burning room. She did project flames from her own palms to kill those Hunters. She had been confined to a limousine with four men who all had smoke clouding around them. But still, she objected.

"Nah, I'm sure," Yuma insisted.

"Well, Kou-san is in there now," she pointed out.

"Our room's got three showers."

" _Three?_ " Hoshio was more bewildered at that fact than she was embarrassed for being told she smelled. "..Okay, then you should go first. You smell worse," she batted him away, shooing him off. Unlike her, he wasn't at all fazed when someone commented on his own odors. At least not verbally. He sent her a firm look, which she couldn't exactly read, but it was plastered onto his face for a few unnerving seconds. And then he turned away.

"Whatever. Don't leave this room. You're stayin' here tonight."

She crinkled her nose. "Why would I?"

"'Cause no one else is gonna wanna fuckin' deal with you," he groused. "So stay there." Hoshio's uneasiness grew even more once he told her that, and she felt even worse about her being there. But she held her tongue. When she didn't speak again she turned to look around the room, and noticed that there was one bed and no couches—which made her pause. Yuma wasn't expecting her to sleep with... him... was he? No, he wouldn't... Regardless, she wasn't given a chance to ask, for he shut the bathroom door behind him and she was left to herself.

...Yes, she was very uncomfortable.

Hoshio could list a thousand things she despised about everything in life, but her most recent issue was her  _dress_! It itched her so. It distracted her from everything else. Maybe she could get away with stealing one of Yuma's shirts—after all, if he'd be fine with sharing a bed, why wouldn't he let her borrow pajamas? Well, while she thought about it... Yuma was surprisingly neat. With the exception of several empty bags of chips on the counter and his blazer and black collared shirt lying crumpled on the floor, his room was very clean. She would have taken him as the messy type. And, truthfully, as silly as her standards sounded, Hoshio found that she disliked him a bit less when he wasn't so impulsive. Of course, though—she hadn't the mindset to remember that hotels generally came with housekeeping.

Once she had drawn her gaze around the room some more, her eyes latched back onto his suitcase. In the midst of warring with herself over whether to steal a shirt or not, she realized that she didn't recall seeing Yuma bring a change of clothes in the bathroom with him.

"Oh..." she sputtered out, rather unenthusiastically considering how jolting that revelation had come to her. But that did give her an excuse to rummage through his things, now, wouldn't it? She could say she was bringing out a change for him, should he catch her. Unless Yuma actually _had_  taken clothes in with him and she was just overthinking things. Hoshio decided not to think about it anymore. She wouldn't touch a thing.

Instead she drew her eyes across the bedroom again, and this time she spotted something peculiar on the nightstand. There was a small black device laying there, which caught her eye only because its top surface had lit up, and it made a buzzing sound. Alarmed, Hoshio stared at it, unable to make out what it was—and then she realized... a phone!

Lunging across the bed, she snatched Yuma's cell phone and anxiously flipped it open. Unlocking it, she was pleased to see that the words glowing on the screen were legible again—she could read, she could made out  _Internet_ ,  _Email_ ,  _Camera_... Maybe she could have gathered some information from scouring through his text messages, but Hoshio decided to look at his contacts instead. After all, if Yui Komori was listed in there, it could solve everything!

...However, Yuma's contacts were disappointing. She had no idea who over half of those names were. She recognized his brothers, and he had one labeled "Kou's manager," and someone called "Sow," but no Yui, and not a single member of the Sakamaki family. ...Although, Hoshio did come across her own contact. Her label was simply "Shio," but she knew it must have been her—who else would Shio be? And true, she did recall seeing a cell phone-like device in her own bedroom back at the mansion. She hadn't known what it was at the time, but this could act in her favor. If the Sakamaki brothers had returned to their mansion, then one of them might pick up if she called herself. Wouldn't they? Save for Reiji, they weren't very respectful people—she had no doubt they'd pry through her belongings without her there, if they wanted to.

So Hoshio pressed the 'call' button.

For a while, it rang through. She wasn't expecting anyone to pick up, and she thought about ending the call even before it told her that her own number was unavailable at the moment—but then . . .

"——What do you want?"

Hoshio tensed. Someone did respond! The voice was deep, undeniably male, but it wasn't like Reiji's. She felt nervous all of a sudden. It didn't sound like Laito, but who was she to know? Voices sounded so different when they were distorted by static.

"Hello...?" she whispered. "Who are you..?"

"The fuck—Hoho?" And then she knew: this was Ayato. He had been the only one to call her by that name, though they hadn't had a single true conversation before.

"This is Hoshio," she affirmed, and adjusted her hold on the phone. Too restless to sit still, she came to her feet. Her fingers trembled around the device, and she began to pace.

"Where the hell are you?"

"The Mukami brothers' hotel room," she answered. "I—Ayato-san, where did  _you_  guys go?" She heard rustling from his end.

"Uh, yeah, hold on," he said, and the rustling grew louder. Then he began to walk somewhere, and Hoshio worried he would end the call. She panicked when she told him not to leave her, and at this point she was clutching that cell phone as if her life depended on it. Her feet began to move quicker.

"Nah, someone just wants to talk to you," he answered.

Hoshio wondered if it was Reiji. He certainly did owe her an explanation! But Ayato kept moving to whoever wanted to speak with her, and so Hoshio tried asking more along the way.

"Um, Ayato-san, the Mukami brothers... they aren't evil people, are they..?"

"What?" He snorted. "The hell does 'evil' mean? You've been awake long enough to see how 'evil' we all are, yeah? They're assholes, sure, but they can't do shit. Not compared to me, anyway."

"...But.. to me...?" There really was no sense in Hoshio doubting her own power—she had burnt an entire crowd in the blink of an eye. But still Hoshio could not control anything; and still anything that she did was linked to her feelings, not her mind.

"Like I know?" Ayato scoffed. "Hold on a sec." Then staticky whispering filtered through the phone, and a new person's voice made itself known to her ears. But this voice was so distant that she couldn't recognize it at all. That was, until Ayato finished speaking with them, and they were handed the phone from his end.

Hoshio was not at all expecting what that person's next words would be.

"...Hello? Aya—"

"...Mama?"

She stilled. It was a young voice, very reminiscent of Laito's, though much higher, much more childlike. And it felt as though every joint in Hoshio's body had rusted over and broken, and she had to slide back onto Yuma's bed before she toppled over. Her chest sunk inward.

"...W-what?"

"Is this Mama? Ayato-ojisan told me this was..."

Hoshio took in a sharp breath, and she forgot how to speak for a second. In her silence, her child spoke more, lilting in a cute, yet unfamiliar way. She listened and memorized his voice with every word he spoke, clinging to him as best as she could. So fast had her heart shattered to pieces.

"Ayato-ojisan and Laito-ojisan told me that you can't remember me anymore..." Shivers spread out from Hoshio's spine and crawled down every one of her limbs. "But, I just wanted to tell you, Mama... I still love you anyway. So get your memory back soon.. please." The voice was level, and firm enough that she knew it was not a terribly young child. But when he spoke longer sentences like he did just now... he sounded more adolescent. As though his voice was wrongfully high. She thought it sounded odd of him to speak in such an octave; it would've sounded so much more natural if he lowered it—but that opinion was minor compared to her bigger dilemma.

She had a  _child_. She was a mother. Were there more? What other secrets was she not told?

"...I-I... I'm sorry, h-hold on a moment." She brought the phone away from her ear. It physically hurt to hear the voice of a child she did not know. A child who depended on her, who loved her, whose life  _she_ granted. Her eyes began to prickle again, and this time her sobs came in one swift onslaught. Hoshio's face went sore as she heaved into her wrist, keeping her voice silent, emotions heavy.

"Okay, Mama, that's all I wanted to say. Bye!"

"N-no!" She snapped, voice cracking. She pressed the phone back to her ear. "Stay with me. P-please. A-Ayato-san.. is with you, right? I-I want to see you—tell him to come get me. T-tell Reiji-san I'm here. Please. Don't leave me..!"

But he did—the phone clicked, leaving Hoshio to listen to nothing but the silent buzz Yuma's cell phone left behind. She brought it down to stare at its black screen, and then tried to call her own number again. Nothing.

...It was fortunate on Ayato's end, however, that Laito hung up when he did. For the two of them could no longer hold in their desperate chuckles once Laito managed to end the call, once he brought his voice back down to normal. Of course they knew that a prank like this would wound Hoshio in more ways than one; but it entertained them a whole lot more than they thought. And they certainly did need a good laugh now, especially with recent events.

But Hoshio did not get any answers out of them. She still didn't know where they were, why they left, or if they would come for her—and she felt nauseous now that another mystery had come up—her  _baby_. Subconsciously, her hands traveled down to her stomach. A new sense of loathing came over her. She did not know her own baby's name. She did not know the sensations she'd felt when he was conceived—unless of course he was not hers by blood—when she loved on and kissed her child's father, when she had filled him with her warmest show of intimacy. But she did not know his face, and she did not know their child's, and that bothered her. Who was she to know that none of it was even real? She felt confined to her own mind.

But, she recalled a conversation she had before with Kaeri Shiroda. And if Kaeri was to be believed, then Hoshio was also Hanako the schoolgirl, and Hanako supposedly had a boyfriend—which should be able to give Hoshio some direction. She knew she attended the same school as Yuma and his brothers. Maybe he would tell her something.

So when the shower stopped running, Hoshio quickly replaced Yuma's cell phone on the table. She hadn't remembered him taking spare clothes in with him, but she was thankful that he came out fully-clothed; he wore a black long-sleeve shirt and grey drawstring bottoms. He was holding a towel to his head, but Hoshio noticed that his hair was down—how could she not? Even wet, it was a nice look on him—er, maybe that was  _because_ it was wet.

She stared up at Yuma, trying her hardest not to look suspicious, but he was staring back at a complete wreck. Hair frazzled, cheeks wet, lip bleeding, neck peeling; her dress torn, her arms grimy. Because she'd been crying so recently, her eyebrows were furrowed, and her lips were quivering, and she couldn't keep them still at all. In short—Hoshio looked equal parts miserable and terrified.

"Jesus Christ, chill out." Yuma couldn't help but feel partly responsible for that. He took her tears as a personal offense—what did  _he_ do? He didn't do anything! At least, not since before the fire. He crossed his arms, towel still in hand. And Hoshio tried. She desperately wiped at her face, and sighed out and sniffled, but nothing changed. Nothing stopped. Even when she spoke, her voice cracked.

"N-no, I——" Sucking in her breath, she thought of what she could say. All of her words had evaded her. So she took his phone back from the counter. "Um... This.. Do you have... Reiji-san's number?" She stared at him straight in the eye, looking even more desperate, and Yuma snorted.

"Heh! No. Why would I have any of  _their_ numbers?"

"You have mine," she pointed out, and didn't realize she'd given herself away till after she spoke. But Yuma was a bit startled by that, and then his eyes went in slits. He snatched the phone out of her hands, rough enough that it left a sting in her palm.

"The fuck—how'd you get into my phone?" He was scowling now, and every one of Hoshio's nerves screamed at her to keep quiet. Yuma was the most terrifying of his brothers, in her opinion. Physically, he could challenge almost anything. But Hoshio's stubbornness was stronger than her reasoning, and she'd always put her foot down when she felt insulted.

"What do you mean, 'how'? I'm not stupid——"

"You know my fuckin' passcode?"

"There was no passcode."

Scoffing, Yuma tossed the phone back at her. "Yeah? Show me, then."

Hoshio clenched her teeth. There  _wasn't_  one, she knew! She unlocked it with no trouble at all—how could there have been a passcode? But she took his phone, and turned it on again.

...This time there  _was_ a screen which asked for a passcode. Taken aback, Hoshio scrunched her brows and tried to reevaluate everything she'd just done. Did she not just call Ayato? Was that all her imagination? But she moved her fingers up to the keyboard, and hesitated for a few seconds, and then she realized that she  _did_ recall punching some numbers in. With one liquid motions she pressed in the same ones she had before, though she gave it no thought; her fingers just moved on their own. It hadn't even occurred to her before that she'd punched in any digits. She was just as bewildered as Yuma.

"How do I know your passcode?" she queried, marvelling, completely ignorant to how frustrated he was himself. And he kept his scowl prominent on his face, half-dubious and half-furious with her. They'd rarely ever spoken before her memory loss, he knew this well, and he'd told her this already; so there was no way she should've been able to know it.

"Stop screwin' around—how'd you figure it out? Who told you?"

Hoshio's brows knitted together. She realized she'd invaded his privacy, but did he really need to get so angry over it? Did he even have a right to?  _He_ was the one who left a strange lady alone with his belongings. If anything, this was his fault. But even still... she didn't understand either. Where would she have learned the passcode from?

"No one," she insisted. She wiped more tears away. "I don't.. know how I..."

Something seemed to have caught in her eye, so she rubbed it again.

"Could have..."

Perhaps because she'd cried so much, scrubbed them so much, her eyes felt very irritated; so she wiped them again.

"Known..."

Of course rubbing at them so fervently would not help at all, but touching them brought her ease of comfort. She kept at it.

...Except, when she finally did bring her hands back down, and opened her eyes again—Hoshio couldn't see a thing.


	29. Fantômes

"Ah...!"

Hoshio's body tensed, her face lit with a quiet look of terror. Yuma kept himself silent, and stared; he thought it awkward of her to suddenly trail off like she did, and even odder of her to freeze up—but she was still, her lips were parted, and her eyes were saucers.

"What?" he said. Hoshio snapped back into reality once she heard him speak, and locked her gaze on him. She squeezed his cell phone tighter, and she was certain that with any more strength it'd crush in her hands. But then she rose a hand to wipe her eyes one last time—one last attempt to soften the pain.

"..Yuma-san...?" she murmured.

"What's wrong with yer eyes?" His own eyes were still fixated on hers, and he hardly noticed the soft tremors rolling throughout her body. He was more concerned with the red splotches bruising near her eyelids.

"M-my eyes—" Hoshio sputtered out, before her breath caught. "My baby..." She began bothering her sockets again, hard, rubbing and digging her fists into them, which couldn't have been good for anything but irritating them further. So Yuma, finally, moved towards her. His touch was surprisingly gentle when he pried her arms away from her face. Hoshio kept her eyes screwed shut, and she tried pulling her arms away from him to damage herself again—but when that proved useless, she peeked open one eye. And then the other.

And this time it was Yuma's turn to freeze up.

"...The hell..?"

Her eyes were bright blue.

"My  _baby_..." Hoshio moaned. Brows furrowed, her eyes shone, glowing a brighter, bluer hue. There was nothing odd about the color itself, not really. They were blue, just like the dozens of other blue-eyed people; but lighter than her brother Shu's, and brighter than his brother Kou's. Still, they looked natural—just not on a woman whose eyes were normally green.

But the color of her eyes did not seem to be the only thing that was changing. Hoshio's bottom lip quivered, as though she was holding back sobs, and the usual green of her eyes began to crawl back into place—until they went back to blue again. Mesmerized by the glow in her eyes, Yuma's hold on Hoshio slipped, and she snaked her fingers around her throat. Something, some new type of pain had blossomed up her neck, and she wished to choke herself to get rid of it; and Yuma wished to know what was  _going_ on. But just as he was about to grab her arms again, Hoshio blinked, and jumped back in shock. Then she yelped.

"I'm here!" she cried, startling him. Her skin was practically glowing; the brightest of beams had splattered across her face, shining bright compared to the harsh aches that were dragging her down a second ago. She looked at her hands, then at Yuma's, then at her own again; and rolled her fingers up her arms and around her neck and through her hair, touching herself, feeling herself, feeling  _real_.

"...You mean you remember everythin'?" Yuma was bewildered.

"No, I'm  _back_ ," she clarified, which made even less sense to him. "Do you remember me? It's been so long! I've been here this whole time!" Hoshio swung her arms around him. Tears had prickled at the edges of her eyes, and she clutched Yuma's body as if her life depended on it. He stiffened at the sudden contact, and could not understand why she was hugging him—prior to her memory loss, Hoshio was distant to him. And even post-amnesia, he knew she wasn't much fond of him. However she still held him like they were long-lost lovers, finally reunited after years of being separated. Then she leaned back against the mattress, pulling him down with her. However at this, he jerked back, and freed himself from her hold.

"Shio, the fuck is goin' on?!"

Hoshio blinked, her beautiful blue eyes glimmering. She never flinched at his vulgar voice, at his elevated tone; instead she offered him a shy, almost melancholy smile.

"...There's so much I want to tell you," she sighed. "But I don't have time... I've never forgotten you, after all this time, Yuma. I want you to know that. And also..."

Her eyes hardened. "...Reiji did it _._ "

Yuma froze.  _What?_

But then Hoshio's breath felt short, and she clenched her head, squeezing her eyes shut once more. A prominent scowl had gathered on Yuma's face. Hoshio might have just unknowingly given him the answer to her own crisis.  _Reiji did it_ , she had said. It was easy to assume she was referring to her own memory loss. And Yuma would believe it; they all knew Reiji made drugs for fun—it'd be so easy for him to whip up some concoction that could seal away memories. But not wanting to take any chances, Yuma realized he needed a further explanation before he lost her again. So while Hoshio was still grimacing at the pain in her head, he drove a hand down to grab her—and lugged her upwards.

"Oi," he hissed. "What did he do?"

But Hoshio was caught in a daze, unable to comprehend anything but the distractions in her mind. She forced an eye open, and that was peculiar again....

Now they were red. Yuma was taken aback by this new color—it wasn't the normal scarlet glow, the one that would manifest itself when a vampire felt deprived. This was a deep, bristling crimson, which clouded the entire iris and and left not even black to shine through. It was an eerie sight, as if her vessels had burst and were pooling on the edges of each eye.

"Shio, wha—"

"It hurts..." She ran her hands over her ears, and clenched them tight, trying to block out whatever sounds she was hearing. Her eyes remained wide open. "Tell them to stop— _Reiji_... Why did you do this..?" Yuma's eyes narrowed once she said that, and his doubts about the second-eldest Sakamaki were only growing. But then Hoshio grabbed both of Yuma's shoulders, and she stared him straight in the eye with her deep red sockets. Slowly, that redness, whatever it was, had begun to seep around the eye, further out, and even dribbled out the corners. Almost like tears. It  _was_ blood—not just a new color.

"I love you, Reiji!" she proclaimed. "Get away from me, Mother— _REIJI!!_ "

Only when she began to scream did Yuma physically react. He clamped his hand over her mouth, but that simple touch sent Hoshio into a bigger frenzy. She shrieked even louder, begging for Reiji, begging to get her mother away from her. But then she lowered her voice.

"I want Mother back...." she said this time. Then she looked at Yuma again, and was very solemn, as if she had some kind of sage advice for him. "Don't let her touch Yui," she insisted, and out of all the baffling cries Hoshio was spitting out, that was the one thing that registered prominently in Yuma's mind.

"Sow...?" he repeated. Hoshio bit her lip, and her face scrunched up all miserably again.

"He's twisted her all up—keep her away from Reiji! Don't let him touch her,  _please!_ Reiji-san... Don't let him get here, Yuma; she's out of her mind! She doesn't know what she wants!" Hoshio wiped the blood out of her eyes, but it continued to drizzle down her cheeks; her breath had begun to stagger, and soon her lungs seemed to stop working properly, prompting her body into a panic. She took sharp intakes of breath, quickly one after the next, and lowered her hand to her chest, panting hard. Yuma remained far too bewildered to react properly—but it was obvious now that Hoshio was struggling to breathe, and... truthfully, the sight of her did not inspire the sort of concern she'd expect from him.

"Yuma-san——!" Hoshio sputtered out, gasping for air. Her mouth was agape, chest pattering rapidly, and the blood-drops seeping from her eyes had smeared all across her cheekbones. She reached out to latch onto him, but Yuma himself had frozen in place once more; he was staring, his face unreadable. The scent of her blood had gotten to him, clouding his mind. And something about the sight before him: the pleas in her voice, the blood distorting her vision, and the hyperventilating rise and fall of her chest . . . truthfully,  _excited_  him. Regardless of her desperate attempts at warning him about Reiji, or whatever was going on with Yui—Hoshio was in  _his_ hands now. Here she laid, at the mercy of anything he wanted to subject her to.

He wasn't even fully aware of what he was doing when he brushed his hands over Hoshio's, which were clenching his sleeves. And she was not aware of anything either. Noises were flooding her ears, some that Yuma could hear, some that were all in her head—but they were all agonizingly loud. Her eyes were pouched, dripping red, and her tongue swirled to form words she couldn't speak. Yuma felt compelled to lean into her, compelled to take a lick of that blood. Perhaps the scent had enchanted him, but he felt addicted to it before he could even taste it. And that was surprising; he'd never think someone with Hoshio's complexion and a scent so...  _inhuman_  could smell like this, like a human, like Eve. He dragged his own tongue up her cheek, up along that stream of sweet red blood. And the flavor was just as its fragrance promised. He was bewitched.

"What is this...?" he muttered, his own breath growing staggered and greedy, while Hoshio had stiffened up. She released her hold on Yuma's shirt, and flattened her palms against his chest. Yuma's tongue glided up the streak of blood, and Hoshio squeezed them shut when he dipped down a little too close to her eye—and finally her palm tried to thrust him away.

"Don't..." she whispered, which prompted Yuma to  _tsk._

"Shut up..." he growled. She felt his breath, hot, heavy huffs over her eyes, and his tongue, licking up the fluids which gushed out the harder she squeezed her eyes. He brought his weight down over Hoshio, granting him more secure access to his meal—and her palms fell from his chest. Her body felt like it was splintering apart. She could hardly hear Yuma's moans from above her, but there were prominent voices screaming from every direction in her head. What they were saying, she couldn't make out, but at the same time, she knew that those voices were not real. She was fully aware that they did not belong to any of the Mukami brothers, much less any guest at this hotel; they were all in her head, a figment of her imagination. Yet the more she tried to ignore them, the louder those bellows rose.

"..Don't..." she said again. She couldn't even hear herself. She couldn't feel her lips moving at all, truthfully, but a part of her subconscious knew she was trying to speak. Yuma's hands moved to cup both of her cheeks, and at this point she had no clue whether she was bleeding or crying. From above her, Yuma sighed out, his voice laced with sheer ecstasy. She couldn't comprehend how exactly she felt about this, but could register the absence of his tongue when he pulled away, and slowly her eyes opened; but still, she couldn't see a thing.

Hoshio had no perception of anything. She'd lost her sight, her touch, her tastes.. She heard voices and she heard Yuma, muffled; but she no longer had a sense of the mattress she was lying on, or the pressure of his body on hers. It felt like her mind had completely numbed up. And so she desperately clung to the sound of Yuma's voice, as that was the only piece of reality she had left. She tried her hardest to pick up every moan and grunt, however obscene those sounds were—for aside from those, she had no idea what he was doing to her. She had nothing else to believe in.

"..Shit...!" Yuma hissed out at once, which prompted Hoshio's thoughts to freeze again. This time, his voice had come out so clearly. She was struck by that sudden cry. It was a loud, stark contrast from his previous moans—but still, she could not move to physically address him. She wanted desperately to ask him what was wrong, but her lips would not move—at least, not at her command. She did in fact feel her tongue forming words, but she had no control over what she said.

" _Don't touch me!_ " Hoshio screamed, without warning. Her eyes widened, for she hadn't meant to summon those words from her throat. She felt appalled by her own outburst, and wished she knew the look Yuma was wearing on his face, or if he was hearing these strange voices from inside of his head, too. But she saw nothing, knew nothing. Aside from the sharp intake of breath she suddenly heard from him, she remained wholly oblivious. She heard herself scream again, and Yuma's hand clamped down on her mouth; of course she felt none of it, but she knew that her voice was now muffled. 

She could not control a single part of her body—she felt possessed! There was some kind of devil inside of her!

"Yuma-san——!" she screeched, and then furrowed her brows. Yuma was not the one she wanted. " _Reiji-san...!_ " She screamed and screamed out Reiji's name, trying to imagine his presence in her head; his dark, neatly-combed hair, and his pressed jacket, and those rose-colored eyes of his. But once her voice began to drown out, she felt embarrassed for having screamed like that. For there was no point to it. Reiji wasn't there. He couldn't hear her. However, screaming like that seemed to have stopped whatever had been haunting her; the sounds in her mind started to fade; and reality could again crisp to her ears. She heard the rustling of the mattress finally, of the heavy duvet, of Yuma's hard breathing. And the red was no longer gushing from her eyes. It ran out, the last of it staining near her lids. She could see again—her vision blurry, and glassy, but nonetheless present.

And she could move. Raising a hand up, she tried to brush away the excess blood; but her arm bumped into Yuma's on the way. Here she realized that his hand was slapped over her mouth, pressing hard—so, so hard; she was being smothered back into the mattress. His knees were firm on either side of her thighs, and with his other hand, he gripped a cluster of hair from the top of her head. Hoshio's lashes swept upward.

"Mmgh...!" She meant to say  _let go_.

Yuma's eyes went wide. His body was all tense, and his knuckles had gone white from his own strength. But once he realized he was staring at green eyes again, he visibly relaxed.

"...Are you back?" He removed his hand from her lips.

"...I think so," she whispered. She placed her own hands on her forehead, and sniffled, and tried to gather herself. It felt like she'd just woken from a dream. She remembered parts of what happened—like her lapse of senses, the blood filling her eyes—but any words she had spoken during this time had all faded from memory. She felt weak all over. Clenching her eyes shut, she rubbed at the dried blood around the corners of her eyes, and fully reclined against the mattress.

"Yuma-san..." she moaned, her voice shaky. He was staring at her, face firm, and she noticed there were traces of red around his lips. "..Can I have a moment...?"

After a few minutes, which Yuma used to further question her, and which Hoshio refused to tell any answers—because she didn't  _know_ —Hoshio finally spat out that she needed to catch her breath and wanted to be alone. Yuma gave in. He knew he hadn't done anything to her; he never bit her, he never did anything to her eyes or her head. But some kind of ghost had taken over his own body, too; for the smell of her blood had never been so enticing, and he had no control of himself whatsoever. Knowing that, he realized Hoshio's hysteric fit and his own brief loss of logic was a topic worthy of discussion with Ruki. So he left, and Hoshio remained still. She didn't even mind the scratchy material of her ballgown now. She wasn't thinking straight of anything. It felt like she'd lost her memories all over again.  _Something_ had appeared in her mind, and now it was gone, she knew that much.

But the upside to an empty head was that she fell asleep very easily, and her consciousness escaped her only minutes after Yuma left.

She had a dream at some point—and her mind was fuzzy, so it wasn't much clear to her; but it began with the feeling of someone's lips, warm and soft against her own, and the heat of that person's body pressed close against her. And then a greater heat blossomed up from her chest, but it was painful, and it jolted through her body. And following that pain she felt her skin grow damp. Hot, thick fluid had seeped across her breast—and with that the dream ended.

Or perhaps it was another memory? She couldn't tell.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> pUSHING THROUGH
> 
> this was an... interesting chapter. kinda confusing? kinda gross? kinda....spicy?
> 
> idk how to unravel her backstory but hopefully this will be a Good transition im sad i suck at planning uwu
> 
> on a side note -
> 
> FINALLY THE NIGHT ENDS ITS LITERALLY BEEN THE SAME DAY FOR 29 CHAPTERS GAWD i swear I need to work on pacing asjhsakngh
> 
> anyway thanks for reading as always ♡ till next time!
> 
> -marzi


	30. Agitation Intérieure

By morning, when Hoshio awoke, she did not feel the sweet, energized sort of relief she had hoped for. She was immediately aware that she had slept in Yuma's bed, with him and his brothers just outside the room; she felt her heavy ballgown itching up her legs, and the dried blood and grime caking patches of her skin. She didn't feel exhausted either, though—this time she was infuriated.

Her sleep had done nothing to relieve her of these dirty, bothered, ignorant feelings she had. She felt so frustrated with herself. She thought, maybe Ruki didn't even need to kick her out; she'd gladly leave herself. Hoshio climbed off of Yuma's bed—which he was not inhabiting; he was not in the room—and stalked over to his suitcase. She needed clothes, and there was zero hesitation in stealing from him now. But she had no patience to look expressly for a fitting outfit—Yuma's whereabouts were unknown, and she feared he might swing open the door without warning only to find her rummaging through his things. Not wanting to deal with that scenario, she dragged the entire suitcase into the bathroom, guaranteeing her privacy and at least one appropriate outfit to change into once she showered.

* * *

Her ballgown was discarded the second the bathroom door locked behind her. She threw that fabric to the tiled floor and let it crumple; she never wanted to wear it again, so ruining it didn't matter to her. And she truly was relieved to stand alone in her skin. Without a hoard of maids prodding at her, Hoshio thought being nude felt rather soothing. She found the idea of her skin being all her own pleasing; she felt her body sacred with only her eyes looking upon it. But more than that—she was pleased to actually have the chance to look at herself.

Hoshio wasn't terribly defined. Her sister, judging from that one singular memory of the well, had been much different in terms of size. She had been well-endowed, whereas Hoshio's chest was average. It was wider than her hips, but not by much. She had a slim stomach, and thin limbs, and her fingers were slender but not spindly. Unlike her very voluptuous sister, her thighs were nothing prominent—and Hoshio wondered how their body types could have deviated so much.

But she knew they must be related. Ignoring size, they looked almost exactly the same. Snow-white skin, stark tea green irises, full pink lips—even the same slope of the nose! The only difference was that her sister's hair had been long, dark, and wavy; it curled out by her temples and down by her calves. Hoshio's hair was mahogany, and retained none of those elegant curls she had worn for the soirée. And her sister's jaw was sharp, an angular, prominent chin—while Hoshio's cheeks were rounder, and smaller, and bore more color. Hoshio knew that she was pretty; she could see that herself just by looking in the mirror. But compared to the memory she had of her sister, she was just...  _cute_. She couldn't hold a candle to the charm and allure her sister carried.

But thinking that she was plain when pitted against a woman that may or may not have even existed was not a good mindset to have, and Hoshio decided showering would clear her thoughts. Now that it was morning, she had a fresher perspective on things. And she could understand now that she wasn't  _lost_. Ayato's phone call had already confirmed that he, at least, was alright, and that she had a child who was with him and presumably safe as well. What was the use of panicking so much? Once she found them they'd all be reunited. She knew a little more than she did the last time they met, so perhaps everyone could share some words. She could ask about her sister. Or perhaps her sister would present herself even before Hoshio asked.

Yes, she liked that idea. They'd meet and they'd all be calm and kind with her. Maybe they weren't even cruel at all. Maybe they had just seemed so intimidating because of course everything would overwhelm an amnesiac on their first day of ignorance. ...But, she knew better than that. This was all wishful thinking. She shook her head.  _Move on already_ , she told herself.  _They're not good people_.

Hoshio moved to undo her hair. She pulled out the bands, which now pathetically bound some strands in clusters, and unraveled what was left of her braid; before she stepped into the long-awaited heat of the shower, and washed.

Her shower was every bit magical that she'd hoped for. The water was hot, and rolled down her skin blissfully; it soothed her from scalp to stomach, and submerged her in an almost dream-like trance. The spa products provided by the hotel were nothing luxurious—but Hoshio found that bottle of cheap shampoo especially mesmerizing; she savored its sweet scent of sea botanicals, and the little bubbles that frothed up when she lathered it through her hair. Showering herself gave her a feeling she hadn't felt in a long time—she could practically feel her frustrations washing away with the hot soap water.

And when she stepped out, and wrapped a soft towel around her body, she felt better about the day. She unzipped Yuma's suitcase and prodded through his clothes... but her discouragement quickly returned when she realised that nothing would fit. He had shirts, and he had pants, and he had coats. And they were all  _huge_. He had several belts in there as well, but not even those could fit. They wrapped once around her waist, ran too far the second time around, and had not enough length to wrap nicely a third time.

"Oh _, whatever_ ," she sighed, voice exasperated, and flung his suitcase and belt to the floor. No one could convince her to wear that ballgown again, so her first thought was to just wait in the bathroom until one of the brothers came searching for her. ...That was, until she remembered the fur coat Ruki had lent her—and it was long, and would cover all the essentials, with even her knees hidden as well. So that was her next option.

Ensuring to move silently, she unlocked the bathroom door, and surveyed the bedroom outside of it. Everything was just as she left it; the bed unmade, the pillows creased; Yuma wasn't there. Her coat was strewn over the edge of the bed. Eyeing it, she took her first step outside, and then her gaze was subconsciously drawn to the table.

Last night there had been nothing but wrappers, a telephone, and Yuma's cell phone, but now there laid a box. It was wrapped as well, with a purple bow on the top, and a small card attached to the side. It looked like a birthday present. Of course, Hoshio knew it must have been Yuma's and therefore she should leave it alone—but she was also nosy and besides, he couldn't expect to have it remain untouched when he knew that she was occupying the room. She grabbed her coat and then went to examine the box.

And actually, however, the card was addressed to a Hoshio Sakamaki.

 _I received a message from a familiar belonging to Ruki Mukami_ , the note began, _which filled me in on your current situation. There was a lot he had written, but I realized some clothes may be of use to you. Make sure you wash yourself, too, and clean up your hair. Sorry I haven't provided any hair ties._

 _Reika_.

Hoshio had completely forgotten about Reika! She was pleased to remember that there was someone back at the mansion who, despite everything, would never betray her.

So she eagerly carried the box back into the bathroom, before she recalled that Reika was a bit cheeky—and hoped the outfit she provided was not horribly inappropriate. But it was fine. Inside the gift-box was a pair of burnt velvet pants, which were black and carved with ornate floral patterns; they were long enough to fit her nicely, and paired with a ribbed off-white top. Of course, clean undergarments had also been folded to the side, but there were no shoes. Nonetheless, Hoshio was very grateful; although she couldn't help from wondering how Reika managed to send this to her overnight. Did she just drop it off and then leave? ...And she didn't think to take Hoshio with her? But Hoshio saw the word 'familiar' and understood. Of course—Reika sent this with magic.

She decided she'd have to thank Ruki later for contacting her maid, and then changed into her fresh outfit. Hoshio definitely preferred the feeling of pants on her legs to a heavy skirt, and she liked the soft fabric of the shirt, and how its sleeves were thin and cool. She let it frill over the hem of her pants then bound her hair up with one of Yuma's ties. Strands of curls framed her cheeks, while the rest of it hung in a ponytail, and she thought that she looked better with her hair tied back than up in a bun. She slid on her heels from last night and exited the bathroom—and she felt very relaxed.

Yuma still hadn't returned to the bedroom, but Hoshio didn't care much; she ventured out into the main part of the suite in search of Ruki. Everything was quiet, however. He was not in the main area, and she was too shy to peek in the bedrooms. She opted to take a seat on the sofa, and wait for him to come out; in the meantime, she smoothed her hands over the velvet material of her pants, and tucked a few curls behind her ear.

Silence pervaded the room, and it remained that way for what felt like an eternity. Hoshio decided maybe she'd be right to knock on Ruki's door, but still she waited anyway. Nothing happened until a full twenty minutes of thinking to herself passed away—and then a door swung open. It was not Ruki's door, and neither was it Kou's. Hoshio wasn't certain which room Azusa had been residing in, but it wasn't him either. It was the front door of the suite, which led out into the hallway.

And Yuma appeared in its threshold. A piece of pastry clenched between his lips, he stood with several plates stacked on one arm, and a bottle of orange juice in hand. Hoshio stared at him.

"Mornin'," he said. She felt startled. He spoke so casually! But Hoshio could be polite too.

"...Good morning," she responded.

"I grabbed some stuff." Yuma walked over to the counter, where he deposited all of the plates in his arms. The warm smells of hot cakes and cooked eggs flowed through the air as he came into the room. "Want any?"

Hoshio would expect herself to be hungry in the morning, but for some reason, those smells were not appetizing to her in the slightest.

"I'm fine," she answered. She rose from her place on the couch. "Um, Yuma-san, about last night..." She took a few steps toward him. "What exactly.. happened?"

"About which part?"

"When we... were together," she said. "I don't remember anything after our conversation about your cell phone."

Yuma swallowed a bite of breakfast roll. "Yeah, I was wonderin' if you were conscious during that. You were actin' real weird." Hoshio could understand that much; she didn't think she'd been herself at all. She felt things, and she heard things, but it was all vague and distant and nearly vanished from her mind.

"I had a baby, Yuma-san," she said. He was a bit startled by how random that sudden declaration seemed. He felt his brows furrow.

"...You mean.. last night?" He wasn't certain what she was trying to say.

"No... I called Ayato-san, and he told me. I talked to my baby. He's a boy, and he's of talking age, so it must have been more than a few years ago. Do you know... who the father could be?"

This time Yuma snorted.

"I dunno how he managed to convince you that, but there's no way in hell you're a mom to anything," Yuma dismissed, and he was sure of that statement. But Hoshio's eyes narrowed.

"No, this was very real," she insisted. But Yuma remained adamant as well.

"If you decided to settle down and start a family, you think you'd still be livin' in that mansion?"

"Well,  _maybe._  Am I the oldest? I might be inheriting the entire estate one day."

"You're not; you're the third."

"Well, anyway, my point was—I talked to my baby, and he spoke to me as if I was his mother. So even if he isn't mine, I'm certain there must be some sort of bond between us. And I'd like to go home to him."

"And I'm tellin' you, there's no way in hell any one of those purebloods would let some kid stay with you. I bet he made it up. 'Cause you don't have a kid."

Now Hoshio was exasperated. She distanced herself away from him, letting her temper burn up any tranquil feelings that shower had given her. Her arms were thrown up in the air, and she rolled her eyes, and turned completely away from him.

"You dismiss everything I say to you! That I have no sister, no baby, no life outside of being a vampire—are  _you_ not the one who wiped my memories? I _spoke_ to my child, Yuma-san; he is real. Here, call up Ayato-san again on your phone—ask him if you don't believe me!" Her brows were pulled together, and she had an ugly grimace on her lips. Hoshio had had enough of Yuma, of his constant denying her everything she believed was true.  _He_  must've been what caused that hysteria yesterday. She knew it all must have been on him!

"You weren't a friend from the start," she continued. Then she huffed. "I'm surprised I survived the night! Did you try to come onto me in my sleep, Yuma-san? Just like Laito would have done? You both are horrid, horrid men!" She couldn't believe she slept so well when a monster was so near! She trusted he would leave her alone and fell right asleep before he even closed the door. She shamed herself for being so reckless.

However Yuma crossed his arms, and his own facial features tightened sharp.

"First of all, I didn't do shit," he growled, lowly. "I didn't even come back to that room. Secondly, it was  _my fuckin'_ room. I had every right to go in there if I wanted to." He turned away from the counter, his shoulders squaring in anger. "You purebloods feel so fuckin' entitled to everythin'. This ain't your hotel room. Bet you didn't even notice." He then walked up to her, but Hoshio was still fuming. His towering presence and glowering eyes did nothing to frighten her, and she awaited his next words with a tongue ready to lash back at them, regardless of what they might be. "I could throw you out right now and you couldn't say a word. Ya think the fact that you're the daughter of the Vampire King will save you here?" He rested his palm on the counter-top. "I don't fuckin'  _care_. I'll do whatever I want to you—while you're in this suite, you belong to the Mukami family."

"Oh, that's ridiculous," Hoshio shook her head. "I don't even know my father—maybe society worships him, maybe they all want his head, maybe they want  _my_  head solely because I'm a relative. I don't want to be out in the world alone—but I don't belong to the Mukami family either!" Hoshio was earnest in her tone of voice, but Yuma couldn't tell exactly what point she was trying to make. She looked at him, and then she looked at the pastries, only because she had no desire to stare him in the eye anymore.

"...Your mind ain't straight," Yuma commented. "I don't even know what you're tryin' to say."

"I make perfect sense," Hoshio shot. "You're just too tired to understand me. Give me your phone, Yuma-san; I'll call Ayato-san. I'd like to go home and see my baby." Yuma was not comprehending this at all. But he figured that maybe giving into her would quiet her, and he'd be lying if he said a part of him wasn't at all curious as to what Ayato had to say about this. But there wasn't time for Yuma to make any decisions. Before he could even reach into his pocket, the second-eldest Mukami awoke—and Yuma's eyes were distracted by a messy tuft of blonde hair bobbing up and down the stairs.

"Good morning~!" Kou greeted, bubbly and warm. His voice had certainly healed overnight; he sounded just as energetic and zealous as always. By the time he made it all the way down to the main room, his usual smile was still prevalent on his lips. Hoshio noticed that he didn't bother to dress himself yet; he still wore a pair of pink and mint pajamas, and his hair was tangled—but his cheeks were wet with the residue of a quick morning face-wash.

"..Good morning, Kou-san..." she said, and looked back to Yuma, as she was still expecting an answer from him. But he was no longer looking at her.

"That's a cute outfit you've got on, Hoshirin~" Kou continued. His brows pulled up in thought. "Where'd you get it, though?"

"A familiar delivered it," Hoshio explained. Her gaze flicked over to Kou only briefly before they snapped back to Yuma again. Yuma was arranging pastries and eggs on a plate, which he then handed to Kou; and Kou was surprised that his brother would ever willingly hand him food—much less  _arrange_ it for him. But he then examined Hoshio, who looked stern and impatient in her gaze toward Yuma, and with a flicker of his magic eye it was easy for Kou to understand that Yuma was only distracting himself from engaging with her. Still, he accepted the plate of food, then indulged in the sweet cakes and syrup provided for him.

"Yuma-san," Hoshio pressed.

"There's a lot we gotta talk about," he said. Then he pushed another plate her way. "Eat something and then we can talk."

The food still did not look appetizing to her, but she thanked him for it anyway. Yuma walked away after that, bringing his own plate away to a table—and Hoshio was taken by surprise once again when she realized that their suite had its own dining room setup. But she followed behind him with her plate in hand, and sat down directly across from him.

"I'm more confused about what happened in the bedroom than I am about the entire rest of last night," she said, having calmed herself down enough to sound level. "You were with me in that room—I won't let you deny that. Did you do anything immoral, Yuma-san?"

"Can you just shut up and eat? It's too early for this..."

"I don't have time, Yuma-san!" Hoshio declared, raising her voice louder than she'd meant to. She looked away from him. "Once Ruki-san wakes up, he's going to send me away. That's what he told me." Then she eyed him carefully. "And I don't mind that," she clarified. "I plan to go back to the Sakamaki mansion anyway. But I have things to ask you first. So please answer them."

Yuma rolled his eyes. "He's not gonna throw ya out. Wanna know why? 'Cause I told 'im what you said about Sow and yer prissy brother, and he wants to get more info out of ya."

Hoshio felt her body tense. "I don't know anymore than you do. An interrogation wouldn't be of any help."

"You spat out all kinds of shit last night—obviously you know somethin' in the back of that dumbass brain of yours."

Hoshio felt defensive now, and crossed her arms, glowering at him. She  _didn't_  know, and neither did she know how to get that through his head! So she hissed at him: "Then you'll have to redo whatever you did to me last night, Yuma-san, because that's the only way I'll remember." It was a rhetorical invitation, but ended up infuriating Yuma all over again. He lurched up from the table.

"For the last fuckin' time—I ain't done nothin' to ya!"

"Then talk! Of course I'm going to suspect you when you hide your words!" Hoshio, too, stood, just so she could level out the height difference somewhat; and although he still remained towering above her, she was enraged enough to feel empowered. However Yuma's face was all twisted up in rage.

"I already said we'd talk after we ate. For fuck's sake, every little thing pisses you off! Listen when people talk to you!"

"It's not so much anger than this is  _confusion!_ " Hoshio corrected, and for a minute her stern face dwindled. Then she sat down. "Fine, Yuma-san. I'll be the mature one. Let me eat in peace."

Yuma stared at her in disbelief. His lips were shaped in a small O, and he was caught off guard by her sudden resignation—but quickly that surprise was devoured by a fiercer anger, and he marched straight up to her. She was hiding her face from him, shielding it with both hands. Truthfully, Hoshio herself didn't understand her own sporadic actions, and she felt too shy to face him when she knew it was her mistake. She'd completely forgotten about what he said about eating first—and about Ruki wanting to question her. And here she was pushing him when Ruki wasn't even awake!

"Stand up," Yuma growled.

"I've just sat down, Yuma-san. I'm not going to stand again."

So he grabbed her hand, and hauled her out of her seat. Not even when she was on her feet did he release her, and she was left to scowl at him. "Now you're being dramatic," she jeered. "Don't touch me." She snatched her hands from his hold, and waited while he expelled all of his rage onto her.

"You started all this!" he went on. "Ya think ya can just turn this around an' make it look like my fault?! I gave ye my answer—"

She cut him off. "Alright, so it's my fault. Now I'm ending it. So leave me be."

Yuma looked as though he was ready to strangle her. His eyes remained firm on hers, not quivering once, but he did not touch her; and finally he hissed out a low, "You piss me off," before grabbing his plate of food and leaving the table. Hoshio had nothing left to say to him. She stared at her own food; and from the other room she heard loud clamoring—the jarring sound of shattering glass and ceramic. Still, she did not move from her place, where she was now standing, until she sensed another presence enter the dining area. She looked up to see Kou.

"You two seem to get along great," he smiled. Then his lips curved downward. "How come you're intentionally pissing him off?"

She was taken aback by that. "I wasn't——"

"Yes, you were," Kou insisted. Hoshio's lips tightened. She clasped her hands together at her stomach, and her brows quivered, and she almost burst into tears again right there.

"Fine, then!" she howled. "Everyone can just believe what they think of me. I don't care anymore! I'll be a sisterless, childless, all-knowing vampire-princess-sacrificial bride if that's what you want me to be!" She rubbed her palm against the right of her forehead, as she rushed past Kou. "I'll find my own truths without you! Say thank-you to Ruki-san for me, Kou-san, but I'm tired of you and Yuma-san!" Hoshio's face had scrunched up in despair. "That man has no love in him," she went on. "He's all temper and no thought. He's vile—just listen to him!"

On command, more crashes ensued from the room Yuma was currently inhabiting. Kou's smile was brought back at this, but it was not his jovial one; this time he seemed distant.

"I wouldn't say that," he said, and his lips curled up even more, which made him look a bit suggestive. "I'll tell you a secret, Hoshirin, 'kay? Yuma's got the total hots for M Neko-chan!"

"Well, that poor soul!" Hoshio snapped, though she had no clue who Kou was talking about. Nor did she care. She continued on her way past him, heading straight for the exit.

"But you know what's even worse?" Kou called after her. "M Neko-chan's in love with Subaru-kun! So you can't blame Yuma for being angry all the time, can you~?"

'Subaru' was definitely a name Hoshio recognized. But she was caught by Kou's last sentence, which struck her much more than her surprise did at the mention of one of her brothers. That she should just brush off Yuma's violent outbursts as the aftermath of unrequited love? That she shouldn't blame him for any of it?

"Oh, yes I can, and he should very well be blamed!" She struck her pointer finger in Yuma's direction, though he was shielded by a wall. "That is  _ridiculous_. If this is truly all based on heartbreak then he's an immature boy who's only after attention!" With that, she decided she was finished speaking with Kou.

Hoshio ran out the door without any proper goodbyes. She was a bit scared that Yuma would come ploughing after her—and although he didn't, nothing could stop her from running as fast as she could. She didn't remember exactly how to get back to the elevator, but she supposed she'd eventually run into it if she kept moving. But every hall looked the same. They were long, with lines of doors tacked on both sides, and she couldn't navigate her way through them at all.

But at one turn of the corridor, Hoshio slammed directly into somebody. It had slipped her mind that of course she was bound to run into another guest at some point, but she was not anticipating it—so the sudden contact startled her beyond belief. She let out a quick yelp, and snapped her eyes wide open, then readied to spew out an apology—and then she paused.

There were two young men standing before her; both with the same height, same red-brown hair, same dazzling green eyes. And she recognized both of them.

"A-Ayato-san!" Hoshio looked beside him. "And Laito-san..."

"Hi, Hoshi-chan~! Did you have a good night?" Laito smiled, his face lighting up with delight. Hoshio wasn't certain of her own feelings. Maybe she should have been relieved, but she wasn't exactly ecstatic to see Laito Sakamaki standing there before her. She took a breath.

 _Relax_ , she told herself.

Wasn't she waiting for this?


	31. Prélude à la Vérité

"...My night was fine," Hoshio said, feeling tentative. She took a step away from the two boys. "...Why are you two here?"

Ayato and Laito exchanged a brief look with each other. While that probably meant nothing to them, it made Hoshio uneasy. For that exchange signified the possibility of an ulterior motive—and she had had enough of those at this point.

"We came to pick you up," Laito answered, before adding: "And also to have a little chat with the Mukamis."

"Is it... just you two?"

"Kanato-kun will be here soon. He got a little sidetracked downstairs~"

Hoshio's fingers tightened around her own clasped hands. "...Where is my baby?"

The brothers shared another look with each other. Hoshio had no faith in them all. She knew they'd probably lie to her again, but she also knew she'd believe half of it, and so she eagerly awaited their next words.

"We did bring him along," Ayato explained, a small smile prodding at his lips. "'Cause he was dying to see you, and we knew you'd wanna see him too. But the thing is... on the way here, he actually ran out into the street... and... well..."

Hoshio stared Ayato in the eye, before her brows furrowed. Yuma's earlier words came back to her—and she felt guilty about screaming at him, because now that he was gone again, she thought he might have been telling some truth. This had become a running theme for her, she realized. The second she left someone, their words and actions seemed much more valid than they did before. And now it became very apparent by Ayato's horribly put-together story that this 'child' was all something he made up, after all.

"I don't have a baby," Hoshio sighed, "do I?"

"No, you don't." But the voice that had answered her did not belong to Ayato, nor was it Laito. Kanato was the one who approached the trio from down the hall, Teddy secured in his hands as always. This was just how it had been yesterday evening, when Hoshio first awoke—when it was just her and the triplets. Two of which she favored far less than the rest of these eerie group of brothers.

Kanato wore a stern look on his face, which prompted Hoshio to pale, as she could vividly recall just how eccentric he had proven himself to be. Kanato had the most abrupt, violent nature of the six, she thought, and the manner in which he entered did not bring her much comfort at all.

"K-Kanato-san," she greeted, and cursed herself for stuttering. The boy in question began walking towards her, and he did not stop, not until he was much too close to her for comfort.

"They keep telling you lies even though we know you're already stupid," he hissed. "Did you know that you're so dumb? Probably not, because that would be ironic.  _Reiji_ said not to tell you who you were since people would try getting in your head at the soirée—can you imagine that? I bet you never even considered that someone could get into your head and read your memories straight out of it—but I think not telling you that was even stupider. Didn't they try to brainwash you once they found out you didn't know anything? Did you believe their lies? How much of that brain is full of plain  _bullshit?!_ "

Kanato's hands had swung down to grip Hoshio's shoulders, which sent her stumbling backwards. But he was not finished with expelling all of his frustrations onto her, and continued spitting them in her face one word after the next. Hoshio was completely bewildered, and in between her shock and trying to register everything he was saying, she remained paralyzed in his grasp.

"Want to know what's even worse? It's the next day already, and Reiji says it's _still_  better not to tell you. Who's idea was it to listen to Reiji? Was it you? Are you tricking us? Did you fake your memory loss and tell Reiji to pretend like it was all real?" After that one, Kanato waited for her to answer him, but Hoshio couldn't. She felt like a little child, all the way back in primary school, getting threatened and bullied by her superiors. All she could do was offer Kanato a meager shake of her head. ...But that sort of response did nothing but swell up his anger even more.

" _Then why does he think he's in charge of you now?_  Hey, do you like being stupid? Do you? Guess what, I don't care what Reiji wants us to do—I'm going to tell you right now. Did you know you're our sister? Hey, did you know that, Oneesan?"

"Oi, Kana—" Ayato started, a scowl prominent on his face. But Hoshio caught her words again.

"...I know," she murmured. Kanato's brows furrowed.

" _What?_ "

"...Someone told me... at the soirée. About... my mom, Cordelia.. and Yuma-san said my father is Karlheinz. But Kaeri-san also said that Reiji-san's mother is named Beatrix—is she your mother also?"

"... _No_ ," Kanato growled. Then he shoved Hoshio backwards, this time releasing his hold on her; causing her to nearly trip backwards. "See how stupid you are?  _Our_  mother is Cordelia— _only_  us." 

Hoshio looked between the three brothers.

"Us... four?"

Laito nodded. "Yup, it's always been just us four~"

Hoshio's eyes hardened, and immediately she felt a lurching in her stomach. She narrowed her gaze toward one specific brother. With every piece of new information she had been learning thus far, she always found one more reason to loathe him, and this was yet another. Hoshio had known that they were siblings—but a side of her had been trying to justify it: maybe they were only  _step_ -siblings. But now that she was told they were related through and through, sharing the blood from both mother and father, she felt so revolted inside.

"Why did you kiss me, Laito?"

But Laito only smiled in return. "Don't you kiss the ones you love?"

"That was not brotherly affection," Hoshio recalled indignantly, "that was an experience I never want to go through again—do not kiss me again, please."

With his smile never leaving his lips, he took a few steps closer to her. He had said he kissed her out of love, not by 'brotherly affection,' but he made no move to correct her—and truthfully, perhaps he hadn't meant it by 'love' either. Laito's feelings toward Hoshio were uncertain, even in his own head. But still, he kept his smile clear on his lips. "You didn't seem that bothered by it yesterday."

"I didn't know what was happening," Hoshio argued. "And it wasn't just that kiss—you held me against the wall. You said, after the soirée—" She felt her face pale now, as she remembered the threat Laito had given her. That after the night ended, he'd come again to "ravish" her; at once, she found herself unable to finish her sentence, and took several steps backwards.

"You aren't safe," she realized. She drew her gaze to the ground. A inexplicable feeling of dread sunk through her body then, in acknowledging that not a single one of these triplets was on her side—and that she shouldn't have left Reiji. She shouldn't have made that comment about Souta being a more preferable suitor than him. She shouldn't have pulled that last straw. But Hoshio had nowhere to run; she was surrounded by three; six arms to latch onto her should she try to bolt.

"You're right; none of us are 'safe,'" Laito drawled, and from behind him, Ayato had a dubious look on his face. "But we're all you have, Neechan—it's always been like this." He took several more steps toward her, and Hoshio was just about ready to sprint away again, regardless of the risks... until she felt someone else grip her arm. Turning her head to the side, she met with the side of Kanato's face; he was glowering at the youngest of the triplets.

"I'm not letting your disgusting pervert nature make Neesan even stupider," he snapped. "Look at her! She's about to cry!" Then Kanato grabbed Hoshio's chin, forcing her to look at him. "Are we that scary, Neesan? How long before you start to tremble? Look! Your lip is already quivering—isn't that hilarious? You're scared of your own  _family_."

"Because he's rotten," Hoshio motioned to Laito, glaring directly into Kanato's wide eyes. He was only taller than her by a few centimeters, so their eyes were nearly on the same level; however his unpredictable character made him seem so much more dangerous than he looked.

"Aw, Neechan~ You've only said mean things about me ever since you woke up," Laito whined, coming near her once again. "You didn't hate me before~"

"Maybe I was blind then," Hoshio barked, before swiping her wrist out of Kanato's hold, and tearing her head away from his other hand. Her gaze flicked to Ayato, who had remained quiet throughout the duration of this small ordeal. He didn't seem as though he was going to help her at all. But she figured that bringing up a new discussion would perhaps take their attention off of her, and so she asked: "Anyway, if you three are my brothers then you must know—where is our sister?"

Silence immediately flooded the hall. Ayato, at last, brought himself forward, with his arms folded across his chest. He did not seem to be finding much amusement in this conversation.

"The hell do you mean, 'sister'?" He stepped closer to his three siblings, so that they all stood in a row. "You mean, aside from... you?"

Not a single one of them were smiling. Laito's face was tight and stern; Kanato had grown displeased by the knowledge of Laito having possibly assaulted his sister; and when was Hoshio  _ever_ happy, truthfully? Ayato looked the most at ease, but neither was he very sure of Laito right now.

"No, not me..." Hoshio recalled. "I have a fuzzy memory of... a woman. Around twenty, maybe... with long hair, and green eyes..."

All three triplets immediately knew who Hoshio was thinking of. But Laito addressed it first, with a surprising tone of nonchalance.

"Nfu~ Neechan, that's not our sister. That's our mother."

"Mother?" Hoshio repeated, trying to piece together all the information she had in her head. Kaeri had given her a name—Cordelia. And when she put that name to the charm and allure of that woman from her memory of the well, then maybe...

But then she paused, as she remembered there had been another woman in that memory; this woman had been much older, much more fitting of being their mother.

"My mother was there," Hoshio murmured. "But she was somebody else."

Kanato prodded further at Hoshio's ramblings. "What exactly do you remember?" From beside him, Ayato clucked his tongue; he was growing irritated with the topic of this conversation. But still he remained planted there, as hearing an answer was intriguing enough to be worth a listen.

"My sister and I were going to get water from the well," Hoshio explained. "And I slipped and fell down... then, in the distance, Mother started yelling at us."

"...You fell?" Laito queried. He sounded somewhat wry, as if he knew a better truth to this story. "Are you certain your 'sister' didn't... push you?"

Hoshio's lashes swept upward, as she hadn't considered that. But she shook her head insistently; she didn't want to believe her sister would push her—after all, she didn't  _remember_ being pushed. But wouldn't that explain why their mother was shouting after them? No, she could've been yelling for something normal—maybe for dinner. Maybe to warn them they needed to get back inside soon.

Nonetheless, Kanato did not like the fact that Laito was entertaining Hoshio's idea of having another sister.

"Stop that, Laito," he hissed. "Don't even  _suggest_  that we have another sister—there's only Neesan." But in return, Laito sent him a cheeky smile, and his eyes softened a bit.

"Well, I wouldn't be surprised if it turned out we do have a secret sister somewhere that we don't know about~ I mean, considering who 'that man' is..." Hoshio found it especially difficult to comprehend the nature behind Laito's words then, for he managed to sound cheerful and insecure and lusty all at once—she couldn't tell what he was thinking at all.

"Shut  _up_ ," Kanato went on. "I don't care about secret siblings; the ones we have already are annoying enough. Neesan is Mother's only daughter... and it was only us four that were ever in Mother's womb. There's no one else.  _No one_."

"——Are we done talking about this?" Ayato cut in. "We didn't come here to talk about that woman. Let's just get to the hotel room already."

But Hoshio did not like the idea of going back to that room. She had insulted both Yuma and Kou to their faces, and she was not feeling very proud of it now; the thought of meeting with them again, after they had witnessed that irrational side of her, filled her with dread.

"Um... I don't want to go back," she turned to Ayato. "Can't we go home...?"

"No," he said flatly. "We've gotta talk about Chichinashi with them first." He narrowed his eyes at his sister, turning his body around to face her. "She went missing."

Hoshio paused. The use of the name Chichinashi had her taken aback, and she realized that nearly every single one of these brothers has mentioned someone through use of a humiliating nickname—Chichinashi, Sow, Bitch-chan, Livestock... She was beginning to suspect that these all were the same person. And for so many to speak of this woman by such rude nicknames? Hoshio wasn't certain if these men simply held the mindsets of horrid misogynists, that she had been blind to until now—or if this Chichinashi-san truly had done something to snap all of their nerves. Since, they didn't call  _Hoshio_  by rude names. At least not regularly. 

"Why don't you want to go back, Neesan?" Kanato questioned, and she was forced to progress the conversation elsewhere. Maybe, she thought, if she agreed to go back to the hotel, she'd learn all about this woman, and why everyone by default seemed to insult her. Still, she didn't mind telling Kanato why she didn't want to go back:

"...I yelled at Yuma-san," she admitted. "And Kou-san too. I got so angry with them, and ran out—I feel awful about it..."

Laito let a small smile grace his lips. He'd seen a chance appear in their discussion, and he surely wanted to take it. "If you don't want to go back to the room yet," he started, "why don't the four of us go out together? We can catch you up on everything, Neechan~"

Truly, that should have been everything that Hoshio wanted. And it wasn't like she totally abhorred the idea of going out with them—it'd be in public anyway. Presumably she'd be surrounded by dozens of people who would cut in should anything come unhinged; and yet, at this time, Hoshio's mind was focused on addressing whatever ideas arose in her head, not so much clear, objective thought. She paused.

"Aren't you tired, though? It's near eleven in the morning—isn't that early for vampires?"

Ayato's brows contracted, unsure what Hoshio was trying to get at.

"Do you want to go back to the room or not?" he spat. "You're contradicting yourself."

She lips slacked. "Ah, I-I don't," she insisted, "It just seemed weird to suggest going out at this hour." Hoshio averted her gaze from all three of the triplets, and scratched the side of her cheek. At this point, she wasn't sure herself which course of action she was rooting for. Go back to Yuma and Kou, who she had just yelled at very unfairly, or go out into the great wide unknown with some triplets whose behavior rendered her wholly immobile? That decision should have been obvious, but the one thing holding her back was the possibility that the triplets could lead her back to Reiji.

Though, Ruki was kind; she trusted that much. But was he  _really?_  He'd be safer than Laito—anyone would be safer than Laito. And as she contemplated this longer, she realized that she was absolutely terrified of going out with Laito. She remembered Reiji once telling her that she was supposedly on good terms with Ayato—but he was still foreign to her, and the two evils that were Laito and Kanato were just too horrible a threat to take a chance and trust that Reiji had been telling the truth. At this moment, Ayato seemed loyal to his brothers. There was nothing that could change Hoshio's mind about that at the time being.

After all, they were triplets. They've been bound together since birth. Hoshio could not even comprehend what sort of relationship they must share—and who was she? A sister, true, but not as closely linked to them as they were to each other.

...At least, that's what she thought. She couldn't imagine what might go down should she actually agree to go out with them. The three of them were very distinct from the rest of the world, both appearance-wise and by everything else, but what struck out to Hoshio even clearer than their heads of red and purple—were those expressions. They looked like predators by nature: they were hardened, seasoned, defensive manipulators; in the short time she'd known them, they had screamed at and mocked her for things completely out of her control.

...Well, that was speaking for Laito and Kanato. But she was certain Ayato could be no different. He'd act just like his brothers in their presence, wouldn't he? His brothers seemed to be unhinged no matter whose company they were in—Laito had no regard for personal space, nor decency; Kanato could throw fits without a single care for who heard him. And she was not eager to figure out what sort of character Ayato would reveal himself to be.

"Actually—" Hoshio began, but she was cut off before she got very far.

"Teddy wants to go to a bakery," Kanato announced. "...He'd like some Sachertorte."

Laito was in immediate support of the idea. "Ooh~ A bakery would be cute. That settles it, then, let's go~" Without even confiding in her, he took Hoshio by the wrist, and looked as if he was just about ready to prance down the hall with her in tow. But naturally Hoshio would never for the life of her condone a touch even as small as that, and it didn't take long for her to slap his hand away.

Laito had no reserve at all! Ever since she woke up, Hoshio's knowledge and viewpoints have been reforming and polishing constantly in her head, and now she could decipher that, really, Laito was singling her out. She couldn't imagine he'd ever grab Kanato or Ayato's wrists like that and skip into the sunlight with  _them_ —and granted, she didn't know them as well as she supposedly did before, but by his outward personality alone she knew he just wouldn't. If Reiji had been telling the truth, then Hoshio was not as close with Laito as he was making it out to be... and yet, why did he keep  _touching her_?

"I told you not to touch me," she warned. Her hands balled into fists, and she straightened out the sleeves of her ribbed blouse. Now she was at odds with herself: she had just told them that she wanted out of this hotel—and she didn't know how she could revoke that. How to confide in them that she was scared? They'd end up teasing and mocking her again... So she built up another excuse—but really, once she thought of this, she realized it may not have even been a pretense at all:

"You said that... this 'Chichinashi-san' went missing," she stated, looking directly at Ayato. "And that's why you're here—to talk about her. I want to know, too. So... let's go back."

But Kanato caught on very quickly, and realized that she was trying to slither out of their outing—and although he had mistaken which part was bothering her, he had the main gist of it:

"We don't have to go to a bakery," he declared. "...Teddy changed his mind. ...Neither of us really care, but he's asking anyway—where does Neesan want to go?"

Hoshio glanced over at Kanato with little patience in her eyes. The fact that this was a very,  _very_ rare attempt at winning over someone's approval on his behalf was not made clear to her. And she spoke curtly in return:

"Back," she repeated. "To the Mukamis' hotel room."

"...Yeah, I don't think we had a choice anyway," Ayato muttered. When his two brothers looked at him in confusion, his usual scowl returned to his lips. "Dumbasses. You know that lunar eclipse shit is tomorrow night, right? I'm not gonna sleep in that house while Subaru's driving himself batshit insane over Chichinashi—so we're clearing this up now."

Hoshio thought.  _...Subaru?_

She recalled Kou telling her something about how both Subaru and Yuma loved the same girl, but this girl had chosen Subaru and so Yuma was struggling to contain himself over it—thus why he was always angry, apparently. Kou had called this girl 'M Neko-chan.' And now, Ayato had brought up Subaru again, this time talking about a 'Chichinashi.'

"...Wait," Hoshio murmured. Her brows furrowed, and she stared into space, as she pieced her thoughts together. The triplets waited expectantly for her to talk. "Are M Neko-chan, and Chichinashi," she paused, her eyes trailing to Laito, "and Bitch-chan, and... um, Sow... all the same person—Yui-san?"

"Hehe~ You got it," Laito responded. Hoshio's face paled. They  _were_! How many chances did she miss out on because she didn't know who this woman was?! Her lips parted, feeling so frustrated with herself that answers were right under her nose this entire time. 

And she showed this to them, too; with her face all twisted up in exasperation, she said straight to Ayato: "Yuma-san had her number! I could've called her! I could've talked to her last night!!"

"Except that she went missing," Ayato countered. "And left all her shit at our place."

...That silenced Hoshio again. Her brows remained furrowed though, and she continued to keep herself looking upset: she crossed her arms, hardened her jaw, and her lips fell shut.

"...That aside, those nicknames are just awful..." She had an even stronger yearning to hear this conversation about Yui now. She wasn't sure what she had to expect once the four of them entered that hotel room. The two families that she had come to know yesterday were both—well, firstly, completely  _male_ , which did not keep her at very much ease; but they were also harsh and possessive and vain. Plus there was the fact that the Shiroda boy from last night's dinner party had talked about how badly both families got along—so this meeting was bound to have some kind of spark to it.

Nonetheless... Yui was their one link. Was  _her_  one link. She wanted to hear as much of this story as she could.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Yule!! and Happy New Year too!!  
> LAST CHAPTER OF THE YEAR BOOM.  
> so,, this is the turning chapter of the book. After this, we will be progressing into spicy times + learning truths + the end!! I hope to finish up this book this year!! please look forward to it <3 and thank you so much for being patient with me!!
> 
> cheers,  
> -marzi


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